LG Optimus 2X first encounter: How fast is Tegra 2?

Introduction

Surely 2011 will be remembered as the year that dual-core CPUs made their smartphone breakthrough. Here we have the LG Optimus 2X pioneer and we are rushing to give you a preview of what dual-core CPU has to offer to you today.

LG Optimus 2X official photos

It’s not one of our typical previews you will be seeing here – we are just going to focus on the performance of the Optimus 2X and hopefully, the Tegra 2 platform it pioneers. Normally, we avoid getting into details about the performance of non-retail units, but this one is so good that it will almost be unfair to save the praise.

But let’s first have a look at the key features of the LG Optimus 2X:

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 123.9 x 63.2 x 10.9 mm, 139 g
• Display: 4" 16M-color TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels
• Platform: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, Ultra Low Power GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset
• OS: Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• Memory: 8GB onboard storage, microSD card slot
• Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection and touch focus; 1080p video recording @ 24fps and 720p@30fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, micro HDMI port
• Misc: Adobe Flash 10.1 support, FM radio, accelerometer, proximity sensor, gyroscope, DivX and Xvid video support up to 1080p

It doesn’t take a specialist to recognize that the LG Optimus 2X is the most capable smartphone released to date. You could probably argue whether a Retina screen or a SuperAMOLED aren’t contributing more to the general user experience, but as far as smartphone tasks are concerned, the Tegra 2 is what you would want to have by your side.

LG Optimus 2X at ours

Of course, that is only valid if the dual-core baby performance cashes all the checks that the LG PR department wrote. Everyone wants to feel a noticeable improvement in performance and unless the Optimus 2X provides, the bubble might burst.

So let’s see what those benchmarks have to say about it. Join us after the break.