T-Mobile G2 Rated 4 out 5 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews
Reviewers of the T-Mobile G2 rated the call quality great, data speed fast, style beautiful and Android 2.2 powerful. The T-Mobile G2 received good scores and was named Editors' Choice by one publication. Reviewers did not like that the T-Mobile G2 lacks tethering as a modem and Wi-Fi hotspots.
The slide-out QWERTY keyboard with three programmable app launch keys makes the T-Mobile G2 a great messaging and emailing phone. The slide-out keyboard does have a tendency to loosen when upside down.
Media playing was good but not as flashy as some media players made by smartphone makers. The T-Mobile G2 comes with doubleTwist for easy media syncing with your PC or Mac. The Android 2.2 Froyo OS comes with the new Voice Actions feature of Google Search, which allows for voice command and dialing over Bluetooth and is seen as a plus.
The T-Mobile G2 has a 3.7-inch touchscreen (800 x 400), QWERTY keyboard, 800 MHz Snapdragon MSM7230 processor, 5-megapixel HD video camera, music player, 4GB of on board memory and 8GB microSD memory that's pre-installed (supporting up to 32GB). Other features include Android 2.2, quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, conference calling, voice dialing, text, multimedia messaging, HSPA+ support, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS.
The competition in Android smartphones has gotten very fierce since T-Mobile launched the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1. It's almost like buying a car with so many styles and features. Therefore, we suggest that you test drive the T-Mobile G2, especially if you need a keyboard to help you decide if it has the style and functions you need.
The T-Mobile G2 is priced at $199 from T-Mobile with a contact or $499 with no annual contract.
Online retailers have some deals on the T-Mobile G2. At the time of this writing, Amazon Wireless Beta is selling the T-Mobile G2 for $99.99 for new customers and $199.99 for renewing customers with a contract. Wirefly is offering free activation and $79.99 for new customers and $149.99 for renewing customers with a contract.
Bonnie Cha at CNET rated the T-Mobile G2 "4 out of 5" for its style QWERTY keyboard, HSPA+ support, good call quality, and speed and stock Android 2.2. She didn't like that it lacks mobile hotspots, and the slider hinge doesn't always stay in place, but the G2 is still one of T-Mobile's top phones. This is the upgraded model to the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1 with a slicker design, roomy 4-row keyboard, and never version of Android. The media player is standard and not as robust as the Samsung Vibrant. Photo quality was dull and fuzzy. Call quality was great. The 800 MHz processor was fast without lagging.
Sascha Segan at PCMag rated the T-Mobile G2 "4 out of 5" for its beautiful hardware, terrific call quality, fast feel and integration of Google Voice. He didn't like some bugs, lack of tethering as a modem, and Google bloatware. He calls the G2 an executive-class messaging phone that feels like a luxury product. The QWERTY keyboard has customizable quick keys that can be set to launch any app. Data speed was fast on the HSPA+ networks with speeds around 20 megabits per second down in NYC. Android 2.2 is fast and sleek, but Google loaded Places, Shopper, Earth, Sky Map, Latitude, Tracks, Finance, Listen, Translate, and Google Talk, all which can not be deleted even if you don't want them. The media player is good and comes with doubleTwist for syncing with PCs and Macs. YouTube had trouble with HQ videos even over Wi-Fi. Photo quality was sharp but soft. Video recording was wobbly. He also like liked voice dialing over Bluetooth. It is the best smartphone on T-Mobile with a keyboard and is named Editor's Choice. He preferred the touchscreen Samsung Vibrant.
Aaron Baker at Phone Dog rated the T-Mobile G2 better than the Samsung Vibrant for stock Android, keyboard, functional GPS and speedy HSPA+ access. He liked the sliding mechanism, but did not like that that the T-Mobile G2 comes with only 4GB of internal memory. He didn't like the decent camera.
Phllip Berne at Phone Scoop referred to the T-Mobile G2 as awesome but not the head of the Android pack. He found the camera sluggish, web browser speedy, and performance great. The social networking apps are basic. He thought that the on-board memory was insufficient. He noticed that the slide-out keyboard loosened when upside down. Call quality was superb. Battery life was poor.