Handsets

T-Mobile G2 – First HSPA+ Phone for the Carrier – Goes Official!

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Remember that HSPA+ device that T-Mobile teased us about not too long ago? It’s officially being dubbed the T-Mobile G2! While we still have yet to see any official shots or specs of the device itself, we at least know that the wait is almost over. The G2 is being considered T-Mobile’s “official” successor to the original T-Mobile G1 and rightfully so: it’ll be the first device to take advantage of their newly launched HSPA+ network that rivals the speeds Sprint offers over their WiMax-based 4G network (all technicalities aside, this is T-Mobile’s 4G phone).

September is nearly here and we expect T-Mobile to drop a bombshell (the good kind) on the mobile world right around the time autumn hits. Head on over to T-Mobile’s G2 site now to sign up to be notified and read below for more information.

t-mobile g2

T-Mobile is proud to have launched the world’s first Android-powered phone, the T-Mobile G1, which captured the imagination of developers and consumers alike nearly two years ago. Now, we are readying its successor – the T-Mobile G2 with Google. Delivering tight integration with Google services, the G2 will break new ground as the first smartphone specifically designed for our advanced HSPA+ network, which delivers today’s available 4G speeds. In the coming weeks we’ll share more details about the G2, including information on how current T-Mobile customers can get exclusive first access. Visit http://g2.t-mobile.com to register for updates.

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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61 Comments

  1. i really hop so!! my girlfriend just recently messed up my BELOVED g1. Water damage! Luckily my girl hates her nexus one so she let me borrow it in the meanwhile. i dont like the Nexus one either so i will glaldy wait for the g2. No Bashing here!! ive semi retired! LOL

  2. This must be the least leaked phone in recent Android history!
    For now, at least.

  3. I thought the Hero was named G2 in some places.

  4. Well that’s exciting! I might just put off buying the Vibrant in this case.

  5. Dude, I am SOOOO stoked. I hope this is the phone I’ve been waiting for. I know there’s at least one phone coming out this year for TMO that should meet my needs. I’d have an Incredible already if it weren’t for the lack of front-facing camera. I think that’s become a must have for all new phones, but we’ll see if the G2 delivers.

  6. T-mo should give current G1 customers a discount for going over to the G2. I was thinking about the vibrant but may wait and see this thing. Bet its HTC.

  7. please say it has a physical keyboard

  8. I bet the reason why the Galaxy is on sale today is to clear out the bulk to make room for the G2 or some other phone to be announced very soon.

  9. this small bump on the back sounds like HDMI to me

  10. Please say it’s stock android, and none of that htc sense crap…

  11. I wonder if they will have to pay Gatorade to use G2. Not as cool as paying Lucas to use Droid.

  12. @wello, different continent and company, skippy.

  13. I thought HSPA+ wasn’t quite 4G?

    Actually, I thought Wimax and LTE weren’t quite 4G either, but close enough. And I thought HSPA+ wasn’t as fast as those two?

  14. @JoshUng, I always heard HSPA+ was the fastest?? Theoretical speeds up to 21Mbps?

  15. Technically, no: they are not considered 4G. But Sprint started the marketing blitz with their claims, so I see no reason why Verizon’s upcoming LTE and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ can’t be considered 4G. They don’t call it 4G themselves, but that’s how most people will perceive it.

  16. FINALLY!!! Now my name is Mr. G2 o yeah!!! The wait is over, G1 series is gonna be the new sidekick line ;)

  17. @Wello The Hero was called the G2 by T-mobile UK.

    @wakester Perhaps we’ll see a Gatorade edition!

  18. @Mr. G1, the mytouch is actually the one which will be replacing the sidekick line.

  19. @JoshUng Both LTE and WiMAX Are technically 3GPP technologies if memory hasn’t been completely thrown out by my excitement in the hearing that the G2 is in fact real. However neither of those technologies are currently capable of the necessary stationary 1 Gbit/s transfer rates AFAIK. Beyond that there are a number of other qualifications necessary to actually achieve the “4G” standard… but generally speaking they appear to all be using the 100mbit/s while moving as the qualification to term their networks as “4G”

  20. @Simon, i agree. i have a nexus one now and stock android would make this thing worth the upgrade. If it has sense or any other skin “you’ve failed” lol

  21. Agree. Stock Android only, please.

  22. @Wello

    You’re correct, the HTC Hero (UK) is called the G2 on T-Mobile in the UK. Very confusing!

  23. It’s been a long time for you G1 loyalist but the time has finally come for you to let go and upgrade into the latest installation. This is well overdue and I do agree that some sort of discount to the ones who’ve stayed in the G1 for at least a year would be gracious of T-Mobile.

  24. Will wait for 3.0 and nothing less than that.

  25. I want this. This is the perfect phone to replace my G1. I don’t know what it is, but since it is the official replacement I’m going to get it.

  26. HSPA+ is indeed the fastest data speed of any carrier available now. Basically T-Mobiles 3rd generation towers (3g) is better built and faster than Sprints 4th generation (4g)towers. Also, Sprint charges extra per month to use their “4g” and will only work on a “4g” enabled phone where as T-Mobiles HSPA+ will work on any T-Mobile 3G enabled phone but current phones max out at 7.2 mbps download speeds. HSPA+ is free and the G2 will be able to take full advantage of the HSPA+ network (21mbps) Keep in minds these are max speeds so this would be in the best possible area. Here in our store we are still on regular 3g and we are showing 1.5-2mbps on a daily basis (we are in Savannah GA). As soon as our HSPA+ goes fully live it will be on!! If you read about LTE and WiMax you will see it is so far in the future that it doesnt even fit into the current mobile high speed data equation. Just my 2 sense.

  27. ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh if this is a stock android phone I am SOLD! I hate the skins on most of these phones. however a guy at work just got the streak and I kind of like what they did with it.

  28. The G2.T-Mobile.com Website is down.

  29. Finally, a replacement for my G1.

  30. There has been a rumor that TMO and htc would be comming out with a super phone in October.This must be it. I couldnt wait though my G-1 was dying. So I went ahead and got the Vibrant. Not at all disapointed though. I think I already sold aleast 4 of the Galaxy S phone for TMO and other carriers. Because the super amoled display is the best out there

  31. The next few months are going to be tough for me.. I happened to have an extra $500 come my way and T-Mobile have some awfully tempting ways for it to disappear coming up.. Thing is, my phone only just passed the 1 year mark and I’ve set a self imposed goal of waiting for the 18 month mark before replacing the myTouch.. I’ll start setting money aside, but it’s going to be difficult not to jump the gun.. I just have to keep telling myself that it’s more practical to get more use out of the perfectly good phone I have, for a while longer.. these phones will still be there in March, and others will be in the pipe as well.. At least that’s the speech.. This is going to be tough.

  32. I can’t wait!!! My G1 is getting old. I am going to miss it though. I can’t wait for more news/specs on this phone. Wish list would be: Droid X, but better. lol This is the most exciting Android news in a long time! I’ve gotten over the fear of not having a keyboard. I told my mom to get the Droid X because she has Verizon, and she loves it. The on screen keyboard works like a dream.

  33. @kevin
    You sound like an iPhone fanboy, insert iPhone in place of G1 and here you go…
    “I want this. This is the perfect phone to replace my iPhone. I don’t know what it is, but since it is the official replacement I’m going to get it.”
    Wait until you find out what it is before you get all in a twitter about it. Maybe this will be a killer phone that is at or above any other offerings currently out there or maybe, just maybe, the thing will have bad reception when holding it like a banana to your head.
    Just saying, blindly wanting something because it is the “official replacement” seems a bit sad to me. You are on a great site to do research for Android phones. use it!

  34. Will the G2 have a physical keyboard? It probably wouldn’t need to. More & more people are going for the slimmer touch-keyboard phones now. Besides, T-Mo has their MyTouch line up. I liked my G1. HTC sold, I think, 2 million G1 phones. The thing about the G1 which sucked is that it couldn’t officially move past Android 1.6. I wouldn’t want to buy a G2 then find out it doesn’t have the hardware to move to 3.0 next year.

  35. @Mark – no part of T-mobile’s network is better than Sprint’s network. And certainly their 3g is not faster than Sprint’s 4g, you are mistaken. Sprint’s 4g network is capable of 10 MBPS downloads where T-mobiles 3g is capable of 3 MBPS, averaging 1 MBPS. Not to mention its spotty 3g coverage and half the time my gf’s vibrant says she has full bars and 3g yet my web pages keep timing out and I have to reload the page. Their network (Tmobile) is the least reliable among Verizon, Sprint and Tmobile. I dropped my home internet service because I now just teather my laptop to my Sprint Evo for 3G and it works great. I connect to work network using Cisco VPN, then fire up Cisco IP softphone and multiple firewall loggers all over the vpn all running through my Evo’s 3g connection from my laptop. Not a chance in hell I can do that over T-mobiles 3g network, atleast not thru teathering thru one of their phones. I live in downtown Denver by the way, so there is no reason for Tmobiles 3g network to be dropping my sessions other than its cheapo and sucks. Now that sprint has unlimited data no tiering service, that is awesome. Especially once 4g is here in 2 months.

  36. One more thing, if T-mobiles network didnt suck so bad, I would buy the Vibrant today as it is onsale for 100 bucks, down from 200. Instead I will not pay 100 for a Galaxy phone, but will pay 250, to get it on a network that kicks ass-Sprint.

  37. what are the chances of this having a qwerty keyboard?

  38. Nexus One owners, I had heard that the N1 is HSPA+ capable. Has anyone else heard that? I am hoping the N1 will be able to take advantage of the upgraded Tmo network.

  39. Hopefully this will have native Android, and not have some Sense overlay to slow things down, not to mention updates from Google…

  40. @Sulli – I thought that too. I swear I remember reading in the manual that it was “3.5G” capable

  41. @cdogg – Mark was comparing apples to apples. Sprint’s 4G to T-Mobile’s HSPA+. You yourself said sprint’s best is 10 Mbps whereas t-Mobile’s HSPA+ offers upto 21 Mbps for HSPA+ hardware. They just don’t have any phones out there to take advantage of those speeds. The G2 will be the first one.
     
    Now, the 3G speeds, I get about an average of 1 Mbps in Sacramento, where T-Mobile hasn’t enabled the HSPA+ service. I know a lot of people getting 4 to 6 Mbps with their 3G phones in markets where HSPA+ is available. Just wait for the G2 and you’ll see speeds in T-Mobile HSPA+ markets that are better than Sprint’s theoretical speeds.

  42. The Nexus One is Compatible with T-Mobile’s HSDPA Wireless Data technologies meaning you can achieve maximum theoretical speeds of 7.2Mbps on T-Mobile’s HSDPA data connection on the Nexus One.

    but realistically, i get closer to 5Mbps on my Nexus One in Orlando Florida.

    HSPA+ is a game changer, since the Nexus One is not compatible with that technology it will miss out on the faster speeds. but quite honestly i am already satisfied with the download speeds on my Nexus already since they are sometimes faster even then my broadband internet.

    HSPA+ is an even bigger game changer if the realistic speeds are anywhere close to it’s theoretical maximum limit of download speed. there will be no longer a need for broadband internet access if you can tether to that kind of speed straight from your phone.

  43. Seeing as how the G2 in the UK is actually the HTC Hero, wouldn’t it be funny, and in my opinion something T-mo would do, if all they are doing is releasing another variant of the Hero (like how Sprint’s differes from the international version)? I say that because T-mo seems to always get the bottom of the barrel devices or get them last, excluding the HD 2.

  44. This will be a great device! Read real world reviews on Sprint’s 4G speeds and you will find that T-Mobile has them beat… My MyTouch Slide and Vibrant pull 3 – 5.5mbps DL speeds. With the G2 I will probably see 8 – 11mbps and will include free wifi tethering!

  45. Stock android and unlocked bootloader and I would switch to tmobile from verizon. The D1 needs a real replacement and it looks like verizon is not going to put one out.

  46. wtf, i have the t-mobile g2, i dont have 4g, hspa+ :(

  47. Check it out, I also got personally notified by tmobile, check the video.

    http://www.youtube.com/user/exclusivegslick

  48. “Nexus One owners, I had heard that the N1 is HSPA+ capable.” The N1 goes to up to 7.2mbps from what I understand and my testing has supported that.

    I’m pretty sure the towers at my work location in Irving, TX got upgraded because I get around 4.5mbps down there with speedtest.net. That’s a lot better than at home (1mbps down) and the tower connection is sketchy inside my office building.

    Hope that helps

  49. @Steve: Uh, the Droid X and Droid 2?

  50. G2 with Google means it is stock Android.
    G2 name means it’ll have a keypad.

    I’ll be interested if the keypad has a 5 row keypad like the G1. I don’t want to hit shift to input numbers.

    It’ll also need an LED flash for the camera to keep my interest.

    Hopefully a fast hummingbird processor too, or similar.
    I’m guessing Android 2.2

  51. @dERP neither is a real replacement. They both have locked bootloaders, and come with motoBLUR, making them no replacement at all.

  52. please say it has a flash

  53. SCREW YOU VIBRANT!!!
    I was going to treat my self to a birthday present in september by getting the vibrant.
    G2>Vibrant

  54. @dERP: Uh, did you not see the “Stock android and unlocked bootloader” part of Steve’s message? That sure as hell isn’t either Droid x or D2.

  55. I’m waiting to find out if you can use wi-fi calling with this new g2. anyone else hear anything about that?

  56. @jeff72…I COULDN’T AGREE W/ U MORE! That is one of the biggest reasons I’ve held out on upgrading frm my G1 is b/c I have to have a dedicated number row. I hope they keep a similar 5 row style keyboard. If this ph looked like the alledge HTC Vision, but w/ a keyboard style similar to the G1, and as slim as possible (think Samsung Galaxy S) and about same size/dimensions, i ‘d buy IMMEDIATELY! :-) oh and a gd camera w/ flash!!! Hope those HTC Developers and/or TMobile Execs are readin this post!

  57. I nolonger have Tmobile-because I went to Verizon not long ago-but I had a g1 when I had T-mobile-I wont ever be going back to T-mobile-but man that g1 had a badasssss keyboard-infact that keyboard was enough to make me give up on screen keyboards…got to say that though I am and never will be apart of T-mobile again-this G2 thing-got my attention-much…much

  58. I work for T-Mobile I currently Sport the MyTouch 3G Slide, and on this phone in SLC, UT I get 4 MB/s Down and 1.5 MB/s Up on our HSPA+, Earlier this month I had a customer come bragging about his Sprint HTC Evo… and How he got 4MB/S on his 4G network! I had to laugh I am getting that on a 7.2 phone! just imagine what the G2 Has in store for us :) can’t wait to order mine! TMO for Life!

  59. I got my G1 on launch day. Its an alright phone. I hope the G2 is better, my contract ends in Nov. What’s the G1 Blaze?

  60. I’m getting it ! I have to I get everything.

  61. Everyone who is curious to see this phone..google htc vision…i can almost guarantee this is the new g2…is has a slide out keyboard…a screen a little smaller then the hd2….1GHz processor…and I believe it will come with android 2.2..i believe this phone will be the first legit phone to replace the g1.so anyone out there thinking of holding out to get this phone..do it! I’m sure it wool b worth it.

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