T-Mobile reveals more specs for G2, first HSPA+ Android phone

As has become the norm with high-profile smartphone launches, T-Mobile USA is leaking out morsels of information about the G2, its forthcoming Android device that will be its first HSPA+ smartphone.

T-Mobile G2 androidOn the company's Scoop news site, the carrier revealed that the G2 will have an 800 MHz Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Scorpion processor, Android 2.2, one-touch quick keys for Google shortcuts and applications and support for Adobe Flash 10.1. The carrier said the G2 will support theoretical peak speeds of 14.4 Mbps. Official photos of the device show a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. Interestingly, the 800 MHz processor is clocked at slower speeds than Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor, which has made its way into many high-end smartphones, including the HTC Incredible and Evo.

T-Mobile has not said which company is making the device, when it will be released or how much it will cost. However, HTC--which made the G1, T-Mobile's first Android phone--is holding a press conference in London Sept. 15 to unveil a new device, which could be he G2.

The device has been hyped by T-Mobile for weeks now, and is part of the carrier's strategy to highlight its upgraded network. T-Mobile plans to cover 100 major metropolitan areas--185 million people--with HSPA+ by year-end. The nation's No. 4 carrier currently has 50 markets and 85 million POPs covered with HSPA+. T-Mobile has been marketing its HSPA+ service as delivering "4G" speeds.

Additionally, the carrier said this week that it will increase data speeds on its HSPA+ network to theoertical peak rates of 42 Mbps in 2011. That upgrade will be made possible by using dual-carrier technology, which uses advanced multiplexing techniques to combine two wireless data carriers into a single carrier. However, new equipment will be needed to access the higher speeds.

For more:
- see this T-Mobile Scoop page
- see this Engadget post

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