Many users have been waiting for the Jiayu G2F. It’s low-cost and very good brand name have kept it at the top of the short-list for many people considering a China phone. Unfortunately, as hard as it is to believe, they have yet to release a phone with WCDMA support for anything other than 2100MHz. Originally we weren’t going to preview this phone as it was scheduled to be TD-SCDMA only. It now looks like that’s about to change with a WCDMA version in the works.
The Jiayu G2F will be a 4.3″ phone with a 480p LCD. It will include RAM of 1GB and ROM/storage of 4GB. The SoC is MTK6582. Camera will be 8MP rear and 2MP front.
Looks
The Jiayu G2F is standard fare. Thankfully the corners are squarish. Otherwise it’s a very nondescript phone. Not necessarily a bad thing. It looks fine.
RAM & Storage
1GB is fairly standard for 2014, though it the Jiayu G2F can be recognized as a special phone if considering inexpensive cost and 1GB RAM. 4GB storage is on the smaller side of things, but again, 4GB is something special for a quality $100-125 phone.
Frequency Support
It’s rumored that Jiayu will release 850/2100MHz and 900/2100MHz versions of the Jiayu G2F. Though we suppose it’s a step in the right direction – it’s only half a step, and will add confusion to an already quite confusing market where different shops have different specs for the exact same phone, occasionally even the manufacturer can’t get things right with reporting official specs, and some shops (we won’t mention names) still think that 850WCDMA in China phones doesn’t work with 850 3G in the Americas (a complete fallacy. Phones with 850WCDMA WILL work with 850WCDMA anywhere in the world covered by 850WCDMA).
A much smarter move and simpler move would be to release the Jiayu G2F with quad-band 850/900/1900/2100 WCDMA. This would eliminate any confusion on the shop’s part, on the purchaser’s part and by creating a phone that’s compatible with 3G anywhere in the world.
Yet, it’s not to be. If the rumor turns out to be true, anyone purchasing the Jiayu G2F will have to make doubly sure they’re purchasing the right one for their part of the world. 900/2100MHz WCDMA for Europe and 850/2100 WCDMA for Americas. In addtion, they’ll need to make doubly sure the shop they’re dealing with knows the difference.
Also keep in mind that even the 850/2100MHz version will still not be compatible with all networks in the Americas. You’ll have to be on AT&T or AT&T MVNOs and be in an area that covers with 850MHz (some AT&T areas are 1900).
Resolution & LCD
We’ve seen some people complaining about the resolution of the Jiayu G2F. It comes in at 480p. Two things need to be considered here. First is that the phone is 4.3″. 480p on a 4.3″ phone, while not anywhere near retina, still presents a fine picture. We’d of liked to see 540p, but 480p should still be pleasing enough to look at. The other thing to consider is cost. Having it all at the $100 ballpark simply can’t happen. By keeping the resolution at 480p, it also keeps costs down.
The LCD on the G2F will be IPS and OGS and will carry Gorilla Glass protection.
Battery
For a 4.3″ phone, 2200mA really is something special. Considering the lowish resolution and smallish LCD, a 2200mA battery should give very long battery life.
Special features
The Jiayu G2F will have OTG.
Jiayu G2F review specification verdict
Though the resolution could be a step higher, and despite the confusion that will be caused by offering several different 3G versions of the phone, the G2F can be considered an excellent deal and something special at the given price and size. They’ve broken new ground by including features such as Gorilla Glass, OTG, big 2200mA battery in such a small and inexpensive package.
Assuming the 3G frequency specification confusion can be properly represented by China shops, this is $100-125 well spent.
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