T-Mobile has officially announced the HTC G2 — the first smartphone to operate over their HSPA+ upgraded network. The earlier HTC G1 was the first Android phone to hit the market, on 22 October 2008.
The device features a 3.7-inch screen, QWERTY keyboard, Snapdragon MSM7230 processor running at 800 MHz, 5 camera with LED flash and 720p video, Android 2.2 (Froyo) and 4 GB of memory. In addition, the G2 features a pre-installed 8GB microSD memory card with support for up to 32 GB, as well as a music player.
The G2 is integrated with Google Voice, as well as packed with Google applications such as Voice Actions from Google, and Google Goggles. It is one of the first smartphones in the industry to offer the new Voice Actions feature of Google Search, which allows you to control your phone with your voice
T-Mobile says the device will be available for pre-order in limited quantities later this month. It’s rumored to be announced on the 15th of September, and will launch on the 29th according to a schedule of launches at T-Mobile. The rumored price is pegged at $199 with contract / $499 without.
It’s the first U.S. smartphone to run via HSPA+ which is theoretically capable of speeds up to 21 Mbps. The G2 is expected to support (theoretical) speeds up to 14.4 Mbps. Because HSPA+ uses paired spectrum, it should perform two way video chat quite well. Remarkably, the phone and does not appear to support that video chat, if it has only one 5 Megapixel camera.
T-Mobile says their new HSPA+ network covers 100 million Americans in more than 55 major metropolitan areas across the country. The 4th ranked carrier in the United States plans to reach 200 million people later this year.
T-Mobile also plans to increase theoretical peak speeds of its HSPA+ (High-Speed Packet Access) to 42M bps in 2011, according to an Aug. 31 statement from Neville Ray, the company’s chief network officer. Currently, the carrier offers “theoretical” peak speeds of 21M bps. The operator said it will start to deploy their 42-Mbit/s upgrade in 2011.
Heavy Reading analyst Gabriel Brown says that the operator must be planning to deploy the “dual-carrier” HSPA+ upgrade, which allows networks to send and receive wireless data using two channels simultaneously. That upgrade doesn’t require the expensive doubling-up of antennas at cell towers, like the MIMO-based HSPA+ upgrade or the forklift upgrade required for LTE, says Light Reading. It will, however, require new “dual-channel” devices to fully take advantage of the 3G speed boost. Other carriers are doing it.
If (or when) the iPhone becomes available on T-Mobile, expect an exodus from AT&T. That’s because the AT&T HSPA+ network doesn’t yet have the necessary backhaul installed and their LTE won’t be available for another year or two. Meanwhile, T-Mobile is using their greenfield AWS (1.7/2.1 GHz) spectrum to deliver increased speed to consumers today – and will likely team up with either Clearwire or a satellite carrier for LTE.
