T-Mobile G2

Hi, I'm Bonnie Cha, senior editor at CNET.com and I'm here today with your first look of the T-Mobile G2. This is the successor to the T-Mobile G1 which was the very first Android phone to hit the market almost 2 years ago. Obviously, a lot has changed since then and there's been a lot of improvements so let's take a look and see what's new on the G2. First off, the T-Mobile G2 has a much more attractive design than the G1. I wouldn't necessarily call it sexy but it's a very professional looking and polished looking phone. It's a little on the heavier side but when you pick up the phone, you definitely get a sense that you're getting a high quality device and not something plasticky and cheap. Without that weird chin at the bottom, it's also easier to slip into a pocket. In front here you've got a 3.7-inch super TFT capacitive touchscreen that's crystal clear and bright. Pictures and video looked great and I had no problems reading text. It also has pinch to zoom support so you can easily zoom in. For typing, the G2 offers both landscape and portrait virtual keyboards as well as Swype but it also has a physical keyboard which you can access by pushing the screen to the right. Slightly smaller than the keyboard on the Samsung Epic 4G and MyTouch 3G Slide, but I found it really easy to use. The buttons are raised above the surface and they're easy to press and there's also a good amount of spacing between them. There are also these quick keys on the bottom row which you can customize to launch your favorite apps. One last thing I wanted to mention about the design is the slider hinge. You may have already seen video of it but if you turn the phone upside down, the phone automatically opens like this. Obviously, you're not gonna hold your phone like that but, still, I'd still want it to stay closed and I'm a little worried about how sturdy the hinge is. It feels and looks a little bit fragile but T-Mobile said the device has gone through rigorous testing and passed all the tests so we'll see. On the feature side of things, most notable aspect about the G2 is that it's T-Mobile's first HSPA+ smartphone. HSPA+ is T-Mobile's faster network and even though it's not technically 4G, the carrier is promising 4G-like speeds. I tested it in a couple of places in Manhattan and I have to say the speeds were impressive. You can check out our full review for more specific numbers but, overall, the web browsing and media streaming experience is very zippy and smooth. The G2 ships running Android 2.2 with a stock Android experience. It comes preloaded with a lot more Google apps and services than other Android phones which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your needs. It's good if you use all of them but bad if you don't because you can't remove them. Performance, so far, has been great. I know that some people were disappointed to find out that it has an 800 MHz processor instead of a 1 GHz processor but the phone's been very snappy and call quality is also quite good. Overall, I think the T-Mobile G2 is a great device particularly for those who want a physical keyboard or for someone who wants more of a pure Android experience. The T-Mobile G2 is widely available starting October 6th and costs $199.99 with a two-year contract. I'm Bonnie Cha and this has been your first look at the T-Mobile G2.