Does The T-Mobile G2 Even Exist?

by Rob Jackson on April 8th, 2009 at 2:13 pm

We have very good reason to believe that the HTC Magic will be hitting T-Mobile USA rebranded with a different name. The FCC documents, the release calendar… you would call us idiots if we thought otherwise. But new information is suggesting the phone will NOT be called the T-Mobile G2 as previously speculated and widely assumed.

A participant in a T-Mobile customer survey took some screenshots of a very interesting question regarding the naming of a device that looks identical to the HTC Magic. They provided 4 different names and asked users to select the best one. The names are:

  • T-Mobile G3
  • T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google
  • Genius 3G with Google
  • Prism 3G with Google

Here are 3 of the 4 slides from the survey inquiring about these names, according to the TMOnews tipster:

Notice that T-Mobile G2 isn’t one of the options. This could be for several reasons:

  • Another Android device will come out on T-Mobile BEFORE the USA re-branded HTC Magic
  • They decided to skip the G2 name altogether for one reason or another
  • G2 sounds too much like 2G and dummies will assume it is older technology than the iPhone 3G
  • The survey is fake
  • T-Mobile is just feeling the “G#” naming structure out in general

If you ask me, I still think we’ll see the HTC Magic launch on T-Mobile USA as the T-Mobile G2. I’m not really sure why this customer survey poses this question without incuding the G2 but I’m sure this is a marketing researcher simply trying to cover all their bases and make sure the G# naming convention is the best fit.

But let me ask you a few questions while we’re at it:

  1. Which of the above 4 names do you like most?
  2. Do you like G2 better than all 4 proposed?
  3. Do you think it will launch as the G2, one of the above 4 names or something entirely different?
  • Danny

    I HOPE THERE A OTHER PHONE THAN THE HTC MAGIC
    BECAUSE THE HTC MAGIC DOES NOT HAVE A 3.5mm HEAD JACK
    I THINK SAMSUNG IS GOING TO BEAT HTC !!!
    THERE GOING TO HAVE BETTER FEATURES THAN MAGIC !!!

  • solid

    > Another Android device will come out on T-Mobile BEFORE the USA re-branded HTC Magic

    I don’t think the above option is likely since we would have seen mockups or fuzzy pictures of it if there were something coming out before the magic. Lets assume that the g2 will be manufactured by the same company as the G1. If so and if the Magic isn’t it, where is the prototype? Where are all the leaked fuzzy pictures?I think the htc magic is too close to release to have a different htc phone slip in before. It will more likely be renamed and an upgraded g1 will be released alongside the magic and it will be called the g2. Maybe the g2 will be a G1 with the goofy slide mechanism fixed, a higher res screen, a fm reciever and an 8mp camera with flash. Wouldn’t that be awesome.

  • Steve

    1.) Two days ago, I posted this same exact info and more here and few other boards. Some people even said I made up the whole thing. Well, obviously not!

    2.) There was another android phone the survey. At first, I thought it was the Samsung but now I am thinking it could have been the Huwei. It was calles “myG wiz3G with Google. It had a more square shape with rounded corners and few buttons on the bottom.

    Check out my original post; http://androidforums.com/android-news-talk/4598-t-mobile-doing-market-research-names-htc-magic.html

  • Carmex

    I’ve never really thought G2 was a likely name for the Magic. G2 implies that it is a successor to the G1, not a device to be sold along side the G1. As I understand it, T-Mob will continue to sell the G1, correct? If so, I don’t know why they would release another device that implies that the G1 is already out of date. If G2 is ever used as a name I think it will be like solid suggests: on a device which is a true successor to the G1.

  • Collin

    This might sounds stupid but what about naming rights, anyone notice Gatorades huge campaign, about there G drink, and one of them is called G2. You never know…

  • chad

    @ Collin
    I was thinking the exact same thing. Gatorade has launched a huge campaign for their “diet” Gatorade…G2.

  • Jason

    Could it be possible that maybe G2 is a registered trademark of Gatorade? I know one G2 is a sports drink and the other G2 would be a phone, but it’s a possibility.

  • Jason

    whoops, I didn’t look at the previous posts. Sorry for the redundancy.

  • John

    For what it’s worth, T-Mobile has a trademark filing in the U.S. patent and trademark office for “G2″ filed October 30, 2008 (you can search for it at uspto.gov). So it appears T-Mobile does have a trademark for G2, but maybe they are avoiding it because of Gatorade G2.

  • Steve

    I don’t think there is a copyright issue with Gatorade since that’s a sports and the other is a phone. Since they are completely different types of products, there can be no confusion. If copyrights were an issue, I think G3 would be much harder to use since Apple had the G3 Macs.

  • http://www.theandroidsite.com The Android Site

    I’m thinking it’s because of the Gatorade Trademark.

  • solid

    @Steve
    I don’t believe the G3 mac is a problem as G3 refers to a class of processors not the model/name of the product (I could be wrong tho).

  • fred

    hé guys i live in france and the htc magic out in 1 week, so if you want one i can buy one for you and send in usa.
    give me your mail if you want one

  • *d.*

    I want the Memphis!!! And all these whole numbers are distracting. Gπ, anyone?

  • Blaq

    perhaps they should just consider cancelling the whole G2 G3 thing all together and just release the HTC Touch Pro 2 faster ;-)

  • tcb

    Is there a reason they couldn’t call it the T-Mobile Magic? Why do the phones need to be renamed from the manufacturer’s name?

    They should avoid calling it the “T-Mobile _____ with Google.” That would set a bad precedent that all future Android phones to state they are powered by Google. I know it’s good for marketing but it becomes redundant after a while, especially as the Android grows in market share.

    Finally what’s so bad about calling it the G2, G3, G4, etc.? BMW has had cars named after numbers for 20+ years.

  • Steve

    While it is true the for Apple that G3 and G4 referred to CPU’s, they are still trademarks of Apple. In addition, the ful, name of the phone would be the T-Mobile G2 or T-Mobile G3. When I took the survey, every potential name had T-Mobile in the front and they even had a question asking what part of the name was more poweful: T-Mobile or G3? So most likely the T-Mobile lawyers have it figured out.

  • louis

    How are G3 and G4 trademarks of apple. They only us 3G. Either way the best name for HTC Magic should be the G2.

  • Carmex

    @louis: The Power Macintosh G3
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_G3_(Blue_&_White)

    I still disagree, don’t call it the G2, makes my G1 sound old before its time.

  • Steve

    @Louis

    The Power PC CPU’s had names like G2, G3, G4, etc. It has nothing to with 3G data transmission standard for smartphones

  • Carlos

    Well we do know vodafone will get a “HTC Magic”. The firmware has leaked and Im using it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=498026

  • Carlos

    Which brings me to my next question. Why hasnt anyone here reported about this yet? Its cupcake running on g1 and video recording is almost there along with a softkeyboard and a crapload of visual enhancements.

  • Rich

    I spoke to a T-Mobile G1 support dude yesterday and I asked him if he knew anything about the G2 coming out soon. He said he did not and we actually talked for about 30 minutes while I messed with my phone. He basically looked in his T-Mobile event calendar and didn’t see anything about any G2 or anything else with Android coming out anytime soon. He also said that T-Mobile also likes to keep things secret from their CSR’s too, and that they usually find out only a week or 2 ahead of time. (No I didn’t ask about cupcake – I didn’t want to sound lame)He also said he couldn’t understand why T-Mobile would even consider releasing another google phone so fast when the G1 is apparently a big success. I also told him about this website, so Im sure he’s here somewhere. So, after a brief discussion on how to hack his xbox 360 we bid farewell to eachother and left it at that.

  • Jay

    i’ve been hearing that the G2 will have better battery life, something like, 7 hours of talk time with 420 mins of stand by time..

  • Jonno.N

    I don’t have time to read comments, so sorry if this has already been mentioned. Remember when X-Box 360 came out, to compete with the PS3? And they skipped the X-Box 2 and went to something with 3 in the name so that the idiots wouldn’t think the fancy new X-Box was older and less relevant/cool than the PS3? I think the same thing is happening here, as mentioned in the article. I think they just skipped the G2 so people wouldn’t confuse it with older technology.

  • Abeyy

    I work for corporate T-Mobile and i can tell you guys that at this point anything can happen. It is true that T-Mobile is secret about the releases of new stuff. We asked all these questions pretty much at a corporate meeting about a month or two ago. Not even our regional managers new anything about any new releases of the “g2″.

  • nuryadin

    aku juga mau beli,,, kenapa cuma di luar sana aja njualnya



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