T-Mobile G2

Available now
12th September 2010

The original T-Mobile G1 was the very first Android handset to market, and as such it is a significant device in smartphone history. T-Mobile would like the new T-Mobile G2 to be equally significant, hence the "G2" name. Initially heading to T-Mobile USA, it is likely that this will be seen on other T-Mobile networks too.

Confusingly though, this isn't the first phone to be called the T-Mobile G2. T-Mobile's own-brand version of the HTC Hero was called the T-Mobile G2 Touch, which could potentially lead to some confusion.

Like the G1, the G2 is manufactured for T-Mobile by HTC, and it is quite likely that HTC will announced their native version of this phone (possibly called the HTC Vision) in the coming days.

This is a highly specified device, but the main point of interest is the inclusion of HSPA+ technologies, which ramps existing 3.5G data speeds up to a practical maximum of 14Mbps. T-Mobile are promoting HSPA+ as a 4G technology, but really it should be considered as 3.75G as it is still based on 3G architectures. Whatever "G" it is, HSPA+ does promise speeds faster than most people's wired broadband, in optimum conditions in an HSPA+ coverage area.

The T-Mobile G2 comes with Android 2.2, it has a 3.7" WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) display, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera with HD video capture, GPS and WiFi support in addition to HSPA+, standard 3G and GPRS/EDGE connectivity. Incidentally, the display is a new Super TFT panel rather than the OLED units found in other HTC handsets like the Desire.

Inside is an 800MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 processor which T-Mobile say is optimised for this sort of device and will give better performance than 1GHz processors found in rival devices. The processor includes built-in support for HSPA+ and HD video decoding, and people who know more about CPUs than we do seem to think that this is a very powerful unit.

Internal memory is a useful 4GB and there's also an 8GB microSD card in the standard sales package. Other features include a 3.5mm audio socket, stereo Bluetooth and USB connectivity. The T-Mobile G2 supports quad-band GSM and UMTS 1700 and 2100 MHz.

Android 2.2 does what it does, with a wide range of applications available to download from Google and other providers. Most people who would be thinking of buying the T-Mobile G2 will probably already be familiar with what Android can do.

Of note is the QWERTY keyboard which seems to be efficiently arranged with good sized keys. There are also three programmable keys for shortcuts and applications. T-Mobile say that the G2 has a unique hinge design that is apparent when opening the keyboard up.

T-Mobile say that the G2 will be available to pre-order this month, although it is not clear exactly when the device will be delivered or if and when T-Mobile will sell it into other markets. US customers can visit g2.t-mobile.com for updates. 

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