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cynan
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IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 1:05 am

Here's the deal. My contract will shortly be up and I was thinking of dumping Rogers and going with Mobilicity in Toronto. However, I wanted a handset that was a bit more state of the art than offered from them.

Cue the LG G2X. Great specs for the price. Selling for around $500 or even less unlocked and is dual core Tegra 2. With 1080p capable video capture, HDMI out, etc. One of the best things is that it comes with a clean (or almost) Android 2.2 install (2.3 on the way) so you don't have to deal with all the trash (skins) that other companies are known to laden down Android phones with.

And if things couldn't get better, it supposedly comes with LG's new state-of-the-art P-IPS panel. Personally I'm a big fan of IPS panels (Have a Dell 3007wfp-HC and a Panasonic TV with IPS panel). Sure the Samsung AMOLED's do deeper blacks and have higher contrast numbers as a result, but there is just something about a good IPS panel that can get colors "just right" and look more natural as a result.

Cue public outcry. There is quite the commotion building on LG's and Android related forums regarding back-light bleeding on these new LG phones (particularly the G2X). People are posting pics of phones that look like they've been taken with little or no ambient light, displaying a totally black screen, and noticing some bleeding.

See here for example: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1042838

Now, I've always known that IPS computer monitors and TVs have been prone to this sort of thing. Yet, for both my IPS Panasonic TV and Dell monitor, it is really only noticeable, again, in a dark room, staring at a completely black screen. In normal use, my monitor and TV look excellent - as I've come to expect from a solid IPS panel. Therefore I have a suspicion that this issue is being overblown. Opinions?

Is it possible that people are coming from phones using AMOLED or other LCD technologies and are having unrealistic expectations for IPS technology? Or are their gripes legit? I am really hoping to clear this up soon as I was hoping to make the G2X my next phone.

(Note that during my investigation of this issue I have come across at least one picture of a G2X where there is an actual hairline light leakage along one of the screen borders. Now this is to me is a serious issue and is totally separate from the backlight "bleeding" one. I'm just hoping that this is more of an isolated incident)
Last edited by cynan on Fri May 13, 2011 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
Corrado
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 7:45 am

I had an iPhone 4, got a Nexus S, returned it and got a G2x (screen bled like a MOFO), and here we are a month later and I returned the G2x and went back to iPhone 4. The iPhone 4's IPS screen is >>>>>>> the LG screen. Its not that the LG is bad, its that the bleed is ridiculous. If you're viewing it in the day light, the LG looked fine. At night, if you're running Gingerbread or anything with a black screen, the bleed was very noticeable. The iPhone does not bleed AT ALL. The blacks are acceptable (not AMOLED black but it also uses 1/3 the power).
 
cynan
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 12:31 pm

Hmmm. So, from your experience, the new LG IPS panels in these phones really do have some QC issues. Well that's disappointing. Looks like the IPhone 4 is IPS as well.. I blame Apple for hogging all of the best components for themselves with their penchant for throwing cash around, etc :P

But seriously, you'd think if LG is the one actually making these panels then they'd be able to get their act together..

The G2X is the only dual core Android that works on all the major Canadian networks (particularly the 1700/2100 bands)... And at the price seemed like a no-brainer. Maybe I'll just have to wait until LG sorts this out.
 
Corrado
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 12:56 pm

Screen or not, the software on the G2x is god AWFUL. Check out my thread about going back to AT&T and check out my issues with the G2x.
 
emorgoch
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 1:13 pm

I'll tell you right now that the AMOLED screen on my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate is amazing. Even under it's lowest brightness, I can read it with sunglasses on in most conditions. Only when I'm in direct sunlight do I need to pump the brightness up. But when I do, it's amazingly bright. I've never noticed any colour bleed, or any other issues with the screen. That said, the software side of things is anything but flawless. With the 2.2 Froyo update, there's an issue where you can only access the first 2.2GB (how's that for irony) of internal storage using mass storage mode, and it does seem to get easily bogged down at times. Plus, there's Samsung's penchant for holding back OS updates, and even retracting most of them when they are released due to bugs.

Personally, I'd be hunting down a Nexsus S right now to avoid the whole software side of things, getting OS updates directly from Google.
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Corrado
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 1:47 pm

emorgoch wrote:
I'll tell you right now that the AMOLED screen on my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate is amazing. Even under it's lowest brightness, I can read it with sunglasses on in most conditions. Only when I'm in direct sunlight do I need to pump the brightness up. But when I do, it's amazingly bright. I've never noticed any colour bleed, or any other issues with the screen. That said, the software side of things is anything but flawless. With the 2.2 Froyo update, there's an issue where you can only access the first 2.2GB (how's that for irony) of internal storage using mass storage mode, and it does seem to get easily bogged down at times. Plus, there's Samsung's penchant for holding back OS updates, and even retracting most of them when they are released due to bugs.

Personally, I'd be hunting down a Nexsus S right now to avoid the whole software side of things, getting OS updates directly from Google.



I thought the Nexus S didn't get DIM enough. At its dimmest setting in a dark bedroom it was like the light of 10,000 suns burning my eyes.
 
cynan
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 5:14 pm

emorgoch wrote:
Personally, I'd be hunting down a Nexsus S right now to avoid the whole software side of things, getting OS updates directly from Google.


My problem with the Nexus S is that it costs about the same as an LG G2X, but, at least by a hardware specs standpoint, is VASTLY inferior. As I've posted, the G2X is Tegra 2 (dual core = fast), has HDMI out, capable of 1080p video capturing (and playback), supports microSD, etc. The Nexus S has none of these things.

And yes, the AMOLED screens are nice. I had a Cowon S9 with one. Great contrast and black levels, but I kind of prefer the colors on a high quality IPS (like I believe is in the IPhone 4). However, if the IPS panels in the G2X are practically "broken", or if getting a good one is such a crap shoot, then my preference for the G2X in this respect is moot.

Now, if Samsung did release a Galaxy II S (dual core - some with Tegra 2) that supported the bandwidths of the G2X, I'd be interested. But by the looks of things, it would cost $300 to $400 more than the G2X (and maybe, in light of these issues with the G2X, there is a valid reason for this...)

Corrado wrote:
Screen or not, the software on the G2x is god AWFUL. Check out my thread about going back to AT&T and check out my issues with the G2x.


I don't mind the plain-Jane Android implementation. I was going to do a bit of my own software customization anyway, and probably dump 2.2 for 2.3 soon after purchasing regardless. But I'll definitely check out your thread in case I'm missing something.
 
ludi
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 5:58 pm

cynan wrote:
My problem with the Nexus S is that it costs about the same as an LG G2X, but, at least by a hardware specs standpoint, is VASTLY inferior. As I've posted, the G2X is Tegra 2 (dual core = fast), has HDMI out, capable of 1080p video capturing (and playback), supports microSD, etc. The Nexus S has none of these things.

If you're willing to look in that direction for the right price, try an unlocked Nexus One. They just came down to around $300 new within the past month or so. Worst case you can probably get a couple hundred bucks out of it in six months, or hold it as a spare.
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Corrado
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Re: IPS Panels Issues and New LG Smartphones

Fri May 13, 2011 7:38 pm

cynan wrote:

I don't mind the plain-Jane Android implementation. I was going to do a bit of my own software customization anyway, and probably dump 2.2 for 2.3 soon after purchasing regardless. But I'll definitely check out your thread in case I'm missing something.


it's not the ui. Don't believe then that it's "pure android". It's an unmodified launcher but the drivers for the battery, hdmi out and the touchscreen are awful. Check out the xda forums on it. Lots of random reboot issues, LCD bleeding, battery problems, problems with the wifi calling app on tmobile, hdmi cables shorting out and destroying the phone, etc. If the LCD didn't bleed, the phone feels solid, and has great features... If it worked well. But it doesn't.

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