Cell Phones

Remember that T-Mobile G2 build that leaked out earlier this week? Even if you didn’t, the ROM still managed to find its way onto other Android devices by way of some clever (if not elementary, dear Watson) hacking, and from that very binary comes some vivid imagery. Nothing too surprising or earth-shattering, unless of course you find a Google Voice widget absolutely mind-blowing. And if you do, well, you’re welcome.
VIA:TmoNews
SOURCE:Phandroid

The HTC Desire Z outside the States — is shaping up to be one of the more anticipated Android launches of 2010, and a handful of smaller-than-we’d-like official press shots that have just leaked over on Cell Phone Signal are doing nothing to make us believe otherwise. The site says it believes silver (pictured) will be the only color offered, and considering that we haven’t seen any leaks in any other shades, that seems like a reasonable assumption. Then again, a white, red, or black version of this would be pretty neat, wouldn’t it?

[Thanks, Nam]

Update: Turns out these images are chilling on T-Mobile’s servers right now — check the source links below. Whoops!

Update 2: And we’ve now got the clearest shot yet of a G2 in the wild, casually browsing Facebook as a laptop looks on with a mixture of curiosity and contempt; follow the break to check it out. Thanks, Sebastian!

VIA:His and Her Android
SOURCE:Cell Phone Signal, T-Mobile (1), (2), (3)

What’s inside the T-Mobile G2, aside from fancy hinges and an HSPA+ capable modem? We can’t say for sure, but this week saw a zip file from China set the Android community astir with visions of vanilla frozen yogurt heaped high atop a stack of powerful silicon. Android Guys discovered an allegedly leaked G2 Android 2.2 build (sans Sense) at the website of one 911sniper, last seen Cyanogen took it upon himself to have a peek inside. What should he find but references to Qualcomm’s MSM7x30 chipset, with all the silky-smooth 720p multimedia playback that brings, as well as the remote possibility of dual-mode HSPA+ / LTE support if the “x” in “MSM7x30″ turns out to be a “6.” There’s no telling whether any of this is legit at this point, but we dare to dream.
VIA:Phandroid, Android Police
SOURCE:Android Guys, @cyanogen (Twitter)

So we’ve collected enough circumstantial evidence recently to safely say that T-Mobile’s getting at least two potentially ultra-awesome Android phones in the next few months: the G2 (aka Desire Z), and the multi-core Glacier. We don’t know which, but we’re thinking that one of those bad boys has just garnered FCC approval thanks to a filing today for a model code PC10100 that features support for AWS 3G — the frequency pair T-Mobile USA uses — along with 802.11n WiFi. Notably, the filing also points out that HSPA+ is in the cards, which is a feature T-Mobile has been quick to trumpet in its G2 advertising thus far. Given that the G2 seems closer to retail than the Glacier, we’ll go ahead and surmise this is almost certainly the G2 here — but then again, crazier things have happened.
VIA:
SOURCE:FCC

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/hardware/T_Mobile_G2_in_the_wild’;
So we just got a second batch of T-Mobile G2 shots dropped in our mailbox — and this time, you can get a much better look at the inner workings of the carrier’s version of the upcoming HTC Schubert / Mozart — and realistically, it’s probably going to polarize some buyers. Check out the gallery for a few more shots!

Update: We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ve just been told that the G2 doesn’t have a tilting screen, despite what you see up there — it’s just the inner workings of the slide being pulled up. Our hearts have been ripped from our chests on this one, rest assured.

VIA:
SOURCE:

Sure, the Samsung Vibrant’s a T-Mobile device and the Samsung Captivate belongs to AT&T, but there’s no longer any reason you can’t swap them around — all you need is a simple script and a USB cable to completely unlock your phone. Dagentooboy of XDA-Developers discovered that Galaxy S unlock codes aren’t kept in a secure remote server, but merely stored in a .BAK file on the device itself, which you find with a hex editor and key right in when inserting a new SIM card of your choice. We tested it out on both Vibrant and Captivate and were up and running in less than five minutes each time, and wonder of wonders, the Vibrant gave us a 3G data connection (with 2Mbps down) using an AT&T SIM. Sadly, we can’t say the inverse for the Captivate, which pulled down standard EDGE speeds on T-Mobile, but this is already far more than the hacking community could have hoped for. The best part? None of this requires you to actually root the phone, and if you’re worried about warranty you can re-lock the handset with the very same code.

[Thanks, Brad]

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
VIA:
SOURCE:XDA-Developers

These shots of a real, live G2 confirm what we’d already suspected from renders: this is basically an Americanized version of the upcoming HTC Vision. What does that mean? Well, it means you can expect a 3.7-inch display paired with Android and a sliding QWERTY keyboard — higher-end than the myTouch 3G Slide and a fitting successor to the trailblazing G1, if you ask us (though admittedly not quite as geeky as the model it replaces). Follow the break for another shot!

VIA:
SOURCE:

T-Mobile USA just dropped the knowledge on Twitter that it’ll be carrying the Motorola Charm starting next Wednesday, August 25 — but what it failed to mention is pricing. For what it’s worth, the company does specifically say that it’ll be “affordable” — and although a marketing department’s definition of “affordable” can be very different from ours, we’re encouraged by a handful of previous rumors that there would be ways to get it for free on contract. If you need us to jog your memory, the Charm is a cute little portrait QWERTY Android device with a Kodak-branded 3 megapixel cam and landscape display, giving it a rare form factor that could very well appeal to a whole new audience (read: BlackBerry folks). So, how much would you pay for it?

Update: Turns out Moto’s posted on its official Facebook page that it’ll run $74.99 on contract — not free, unfortunately, and in the age of free Pixi Pluses, that might be a tough pill to swallow. We’ve also been handed a video of Telus demonstrating its version of the Charm, which should look and work exactly the same — check it out after the break. Thanks, Matt and DeadMan!

VIA:@TMobile_USA (Twitter)
SOURCE:T-Mobile, Facebook

If the Captivate and $150 less than Sprint’s Epic 4G. Any way you slice it, that’s a killer carrier-direct price for a high-end Android phone with a 1GHz core and one of the best phone displays we’ve ever seen… and remember, it includes Avatar, which means you’re getting this for the price of a few Avatar Blu-rays. Yeah, that’s the way to look at it.

Update: Don’t want to drop even a single Benjamin on T-Mobile’s foremost Android? How’s a penny sound? We’re seeing the Vibrant for $0.01 (and two years of your life) right now at Amazon.

[Thanks, Aaron and Kevin L.]
VIA:
SOURCE:T-Mobile

It’s called the G2, it’ll run Android, and it’s T-Mobile’s first phone to ride those wannabe-4G HSPA+ airwaves. Those are the facts we have. As to the speculation, a previous roadmap leak and T-Mobile’s own reps indicate it’ll be a HTC-built handset set for a September release, while a careful eyeballing of that silhouette leads us to thinking it’s the same device as the purported myTouch HD we’ve been seeing around here lately. Whatever it is, it’s coming soon!

[Thanks, Daniel]
VIA:
SOURCE:G2.T-Mobile.com