January 14, 2013 at 09:18Jiayu G2 - great value for money / functionality!
At the hub, it has already been repeatedly mentioned how much the Chinese smartphone market has stepped forward. Today I will tell you about another device from the Middle Kingdom - Jiayu G2. This is the only smartphone with a screen diagonal of 4 inches, 1 GB of RAM and costing up to $ 200.
The device is sold in various versions, in a minimal configuration its cost starts from the mark of 160 dollars. An excellent price tag for such characteristics for a smartphone with a screen diagonal of 4 inches is exactly the size that I think is ideal.
There are 2 batteries in the kit, which is a definite plus in cases when I forgot to put the phone on overnight charge. They weigh decently, so there is no doubt about the real capacity.
The 500 mA power supply was a disappointment given the battery capacity. The battery charging time in the phone is 4 hours, and when using an external memory, it increases to 7 hours. Could put at least 1A, but, again - take a look at the price.
Sin was not to make out BP. Inside, everything turned out to be at a decent level. Soldering more or less tried to flush flux.
We were pleased with the external memory, it especially helped during the testing of the device, but when using it, the battery charges longer than in the phone.
Also included was a headset for ejection and documentation in Chinese.
The last thing I want to talk about is remedies. No, I didn’t have condoms, but the kit included a good cover and a protective film. By the way, this silicone-plastic case has twice saved the device from death. The first - when falling from one meter onto a wooden floor, flat, with the display down. The second case is a falling edge on a concrete floor from a meter high. The photo does not quite correctly convey the look of the phone with a cover - in fact, it stands above the screen.
The equipment is good, but the terrible headset, weak power supply and Spartan packaging spoil the impression a bit.
On the front panel there is a screen, two touchscreens (they are almost invisible without backlighting) and one hardkey button. Along the perimeter, the case is edged with glossy black plastic. Above the screen is the earpiece, front camera, two sensors and an alert LED. On the top face is a headphone jack and a power button. On the bottom there is a MicroUSB connector, a microphone hole and a slot with which you can remove the back cover. A little higher, already on the back of the phone, there is an external speaker and brief information about the device. On the left - a volume rocker, without a separator and any identification marks. Despite its unpretentiousness, it has a clear tactile response, which makes it possible to use it when wearing a bumper.
Behind - the company logo, camera and flash LED, unfortunately - one. The back cover is made of flexible plastic with soft-touch spraying, which prevents the device from slipping out of hands. The cover is sturdy and fits snugly to the phone. In addition to black, there are also covers of white, orange, yellow, green and blue, but they are glossy. It is mounted using 12 plastic latches around the entire perimeter of the smartphone. In general, the appearance causes me only positive emotions. Brutal whetstone, with high-quality assembly and, accordingly, without the slightest backlash or creaks.
It is worth noting that those same 2.5 GB are reserved for the internal memory of the smartphone and for its full operation you will have to purchase a microSD memory card. For example, your camera will not work (save images) if a memory card is not inserted in the slot.
AnTuTu and Quadrant: Sensors and multi-touch:
A set of various sensors can not but rejoice. There’s even a compass, now don’t be lost. :)
GPS: The work of this module pleased. The first screenshot was taken on the street, the second indoors, near the window. As you can see, the phone can easily be used as a navigator. Autonomy. Antutu Tester: A total of 458 parrots. I still did not understand what caused such a low result and continued to test autonomy in real operating conditions. Its results are shown in the table:
As for daily use, with my typical operation pattern, the device hardly survives until the end of the second day. My typical operation scheme looks like this: taking it off in the morning and going to school. All this time, i.e. 8 hours 2G-Internet, at home constantly Wi-Fi. All day typing about an hour of browsing, plus the same amount of reading and listening to music. Calls take about 10-15 minutes of time. Also included are push notifications from VK, Twitter, and Gmail.
Given the ratio of the diagonal of the screen and the battery capacity - not the best indicators, to sin, I think it is necessary for poor optimization of the firmware. Although it is possible I have too many background tasks being performed, because according to information from various forums, for some people the device lives 4-5 days.
Remove the back cover by prying it at the recess at the bottom. Unscrew the four bolts around the perimeter of the smartphone. The fifth is not touching. Armed with a pick, we snap off plastic fasteners. Subsequently, we see the board and its rear panel: On the rear panel are the contacts of the antennas, a speaker and a window for the camera. You can examine the motherboard in more detail in the following photo: Let's continue disassembling. We fold back the two cables marked with a green rectangle, just picking up the edge of a flat screwdriver a little, they depart easily. Next, disconnect the screen cable, after removing the Velcro from it and raising the bar that holds it in the connector.
In the lower right corner, turn off the coaxial cable. Unscrew the four screws around the perimeter of the board. Carefully raise and remove the board. Please note that under the board there is another connector that also needs to be carefully disconnected. We remove the motherboard: Reverse side thereof: Front camera, RGB LED and various sensors near: Assemble back in the reverse order. In general, the device is disassembled / assembled easily, there are no complaints about soldering or accessories. Everything is done with high quality.
Examples of shots with HDR (right) and without (left) are shown below. There were no problems with the macro either: Below is a test with a sheet, or rather two, of the text. The camera coped with the task. The smartphone can shoot video in HD quality. The footage quality is below average.
Photo quality is average, no different from other Chinese smartphones. Only the presence of HDR mute sweetens the overall impression (although 99% of smartphones have it).
List of changes:
You can read the instructions for installing custom firmware in the JIAYU G2 topic on the thematic forum. In the header, under the spoiler "Custom firmware".
+ Once again price
+ Display
+ Case materials
+ Build quality
+ Performance
+ Smooth interface
- Recorded video quality
Subject on china-iphone.ru
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- 1GHz MT6577 processor
- 1 GB RAM + 4 GB internal memory
- 2 active SIM cards (in standby mode, of course), one of which can work in 3G networks.
- IPS screen, 4 ", 480x800 pixels, 16.7 million colors, touch, capacitive, multi-touch support
- 2 cameras: rear 8 MP, auto focus and front 0.3 MP
- 2050 mAh battery
- Android operating system ICS 4.0.3
- Sensors: lighting, proximity, gyroscope, accelerometer and compass
- Communications: GPS, Wi-Fi (n), BT, FM
- Dimensions: 124 × 63 × 10.6 (mm)
- Weight: 140 g (with standard battery)
The device is sold in various versions, in a minimal configuration its cost starts from the mark of 160 dollars. An excellent price tag for such characteristics for a smartphone with a screen diagonal of 4 inches is exactly the size that I think is ideal.
Delivery, packaging, equipment
To whom it is, but lately I have been lucky with the mail. The device arrived from China in 2 weeks, the usual China Post. Moreover, over the past 2 months, 60% of parcels from China were invested in this period. The smartphone comes in a plastic box, similar to those in which I pickle printed circuit boards wrapped in thick paper. To be honest, I haven’t seen this yet, but on the other hand I have to note that the device has more chances to “stay alive” in plastic packaging. Consider the configuration: I ordered the maximum: 2 batteries with a capacity of 2050 mAh, a power supply with an adapter, an external charger, a headset, a film on the screen, a case and various documentation. Now, first things first.There are 2 batteries in the kit, which is a definite plus in cases when I forgot to put the phone on overnight charge. They weigh decently, so there is no doubt about the real capacity.
The 500 mA power supply was a disappointment given the battery capacity. The battery charging time in the phone is 4 hours, and when using an external memory, it increases to 7 hours. Could put at least 1A, but, again - take a look at the price.
Sin was not to make out BP. Inside, everything turned out to be at a decent level. Soldering more or less tried to flush flux.
We were pleased with the external memory, it especially helped during the testing of the device, but when using it, the battery charges longer than in the phone.
Also included was a headset for ejection and documentation in Chinese.
The last thing I want to talk about is remedies. No, I didn’t have condoms, but the kit included a good cover and a protective film. By the way, this silicone-plastic case has twice saved the device from death. The first - when falling from one meter onto a wooden floor, flat, with the display down. The second case is a falling edge on a concrete floor from a meter high. The photo does not quite correctly convey the look of the phone with a cover - in fact, it stands above the screen.
The equipment is good, but the terrible headset, weak power supply and Spartan packaging spoil the impression a bit.
Appearance and Ergonomics
On the front panel there is a screen, two touchscreens (they are almost invisible without backlighting) and one hardkey button. Along the perimeter, the case is edged with glossy black plastic. Above the screen is the earpiece, front camera, two sensors and an alert LED. On the top face is a headphone jack and a power button. On the bottom there is a MicroUSB connector, a microphone hole and a slot with which you can remove the back cover. A little higher, already on the back of the phone, there is an external speaker and brief information about the device. On the left - a volume rocker, without a separator and any identification marks. Despite its unpretentiousness, it has a clear tactile response, which makes it possible to use it when wearing a bumper.
Behind - the company logo, camera and flash LED, unfortunately - one. The back cover is made of flexible plastic with soft-touch spraying, which prevents the device from slipping out of hands. The cover is sturdy and fits snugly to the phone. In addition to black, there are also covers of white, orange, yellow, green and blue, but they are glossy. It is mounted using 12 plastic latches around the entire perimeter of the smartphone. In general, the appearance causes me only positive emotions. Brutal whetstone, with high-quality assembly and, accordingly, without the slightest backlash or creaks.
Hardware platform
Jiayu G2 is based on the already proven MTK6577 processor, which includes two Cortex-A9 processor cores, each with a 1 GHz clock frequency, PowerVR SGX531 graphics core, 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of flash drive (2.5 GB available to the user) . All this allows the smartphone to easily cope with viewing and recording video in HD-quality, three-dimensional games and other resource-intensive applications.It is worth noting that those same 2.5 GB are reserved for the internal memory of the smartphone and for its full operation you will have to purchase a microSD memory card. For example, your camera will not work (save images) if a memory card is not inserted in the slot.
AnTuTu and Quadrant: Sensors and multi-touch:
A set of various sensors can not but rejoice. There’s even a compass, now don’t be lost. :)
GPS: The work of this module pleased. The first screenshot was taken on the street, the second indoors, near the window. As you can see, the phone can easily be used as a navigator. Autonomy. Antutu Tester: A total of 458 parrots. I still did not understand what caused such a low result and continued to test autonomy in real operating conditions. Its results are shown in the table:
| Mode | Time minutes |
| 3D games | 280 |
| Playing 480p YouTube Videos | 510 |
| Playing 720p YouTube videos | 395 |
Given the ratio of the diagonal of the screen and the battery capacity - not the best indicators, to sin, I think it is necessary for poor optimization of the firmware. Although it is possible I have too many background tasks being performed, because according to information from various forums, for some people the device lives 4-5 days.
Inside and maintainability
Let's analyze the device. We will conduct an inspection of the insides, test the maintainability.Remove the back cover by prying it at the recess at the bottom. Unscrew the four bolts around the perimeter of the smartphone. The fifth is not touching. Armed with a pick, we snap off plastic fasteners. Subsequently, we see the board and its rear panel: On the rear panel are the contacts of the antennas, a speaker and a window for the camera. You can examine the motherboard in more detail in the following photo: Let's continue disassembling. We fold back the two cables marked with a green rectangle, just picking up the edge of a flat screwdriver a little, they depart easily. Next, disconnect the screen cable, after removing the Velcro from it and raising the bar that holds it in the connector.
In the lower right corner, turn off the coaxial cable. Unscrew the four screws around the perimeter of the board. Carefully raise and remove the board. Please note that under the board there is another connector that also needs to be carefully disconnected. We remove the motherboard: Reverse side thereof: Front camera, RGB LED and various sensors near: Assemble back in the reverse order. In general, the device is disassembled / assembled easily, there are no complaints about soldering or accessories. Everything is done with high quality.
Display
The Jiayu G2 installs an IPS matrix manufactured by LG or Hitachi. I have a smartphone with a display from Hitachi. The characteristics of the screen at the highest level: wide viewing angles, good contrast. The coating is glass, not Gorila Glass, although rumors of the presence of it passed. The diagonal of the screen is 4 ”, the resolution is 800x480 pixels, the ppi of the screen is 233. Unfortunately, I could not catch the sunlight, but on a typical winter day, the screen remains readable even at a brightness of 40%. In general, the display left an extremely positive impression. Still to increase the resolution to QHD (expected in the G2S model) and for me personally the screen will become ideal.Camera
The main camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels. There is autofocus and a very weak LED flash.Examples of shots with HDR (right) and without (left) are shown below. There were no problems with the macro either: Below is a test with a sheet, or rather two, of the text. The camera coped with the task. The smartphone can shoot video in HD quality. The footage quality is below average.
Photo quality is average, no different from other Chinese smartphones. Only the presence of HDR mute sweetens the overall impression (although 99% of smartphones have it).
Operating system firmware
The model runs on the operating system Android 4.0.4. I recommend immediately switching to custom firmware All in one v. 1 by savyol . Just because root access is already installed there, the Chinese software and other pleasant trifles are cleared. There are several patches, including one that is responsible for the correct operation of the three-color LED.List of changes:
- CWM recovery
- Boot with root shell + ext2simg added to remove backup via adb
- Root and superuser + rootexplorer
- Removed Chinese software
- Russian T9 in the dialer
- Removed login and password from Russian OPSOS
- Updated hosts
- There is no JIAYU icon in the application menu, Chinese links to Russian are replaced in the browser
- Replaced MMS / SMS application (backup / restore on a memory card is available)
- Added engineering menu in the developer options item.
- Extended shutdown menu, there is a recovery item
- Fix Fonts
You can read the instructions for installing custom firmware in the JIAYU G2 topic on the thematic forum. In the header, under the spoiler "Custom firmware".
Summary
JIAYU G2 is the only 4-inch Android smartphone with 1 GB of RAM in the price range up to $ 200. Its main advantages include a high-quality IPS screen, a platform that is sufficiently productive for comfortable work and, of course, a convenient size. Among the shortcomings can be noted poor optimization of the firmware which quickly eats up a battery of 2000 mAh. But still, I will not recommend this device to people who want to “buy and use,” given the price - this is more a toy for geeks or the first smartphone for a child.Liked
+ Price+ Once again price
+ Display
+ Case materials
+ Build quality
+ Performance
+ Smooth interface
Did not like
- Poor firmware optimization- Recorded video quality
Cost
The phone was bought at BuySKU store for $ 167 for the maximum configuration. Near the catalog there is the same, but in white colors .Related Links
Subject on w3bsit3-dns.comSubject on china-iphone.ru
If you do not have an account on Habrahabr, you can read and comment on our articles on BoxOverview.com