latest
About a week ago, a seemingly official build of Gingerbread for the T-Mobile G2 found its way to T-Mo's support forums, suggesting an update was fast approaching. That suggestion was dead-on, as the official over-the-air update process started today, according to the Pinkest Carrier's G2 update page.
The T-Mobile G2 has seen its fair share of ups and downs, teases, and leaks of Gingerbread, but it appears the time of release is nearly upon us. A user over at the T-Mobile support forums has dropped a leaked version of the official Gingerbread build for the G2 for all to download and install. The post puts strong emphasis on the fact that this is the exact same version that ended up on some refurbished handsets - so I assume that it's the real deal.
The newest version of Sense UI has been somewhat of a hot topic among HTC owners, as HTC itself said that certain aspects of it has been reserved for newer devices only. Naturally, the dev community over at XDA was not about to stand for that, and shortly after the Sensation ROM leak, got to work on spreading the Sense 3.0 love.
Good news for G2 users: it looks like the Android update fairy may be smiling upon you! According to TMoNews, a Gingerbread update for the G2 is in the works and it should be ready "soon."
A few days after releasing the Android 2.3 SDK, Google officially pushed Gingerbread to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Shortly thereafter, developers (such as the CyanogenMod crew) immediately started working on their custom ROMs based on the AOSP code (e.g. CyanogenMod 7).
It's always nice when a manufacturer is nice enough to allow the community to see the source code used to keep device kernels ticking, particularly as this source code can help with troubleshooting and ROM development. They are, to a certain extent, required to do this by the GPLv2 license, but it's still pretty great for all you XDA junkies. Well, if you guys were lusting after the latest source code for the kernels of the T-Mobile G2, the myTouch 4G, or Verizon's Droid Incredible, you can finally stop lurking around, for HTC has, at long last, made the code for these handsets available. Try and contain your excitement.
Who says the G2's processor is slow, eh? While its stock 800 MHz clockspeed didn't break any benchmark records, it's showing itself to be nicely capable of overclocking. Unlike the QSD8250 in the original Snapdragon, which gets rather unstable anywhere past the 1.13GHz (+15%) mark, the MSM7230 in the Scorpion of the G2 sails right on past +100% with apparent stability. The kernel was posted on XDA-Developers by member Flippy125, with the usual "NOT MY FAULT IF-" disclaimers, but also noting that the kernel runs stably for him.
You're probably aware of one of the slightly more irksome facets of the G2 that is stymying attempts at custom ROMs, namely the locked down /system partition, where the OS is kept. Heretofore it has been impossible to tinker with this internal memory in a permanent fashion. All alterations were reverted on the next boot, leading to solutions like Paul O'Brien's VISIONary soft-root.
Fresh on this HTC's servers this morning we have the source code for the latest G2, DZ and Dinc kernels, along with source code for their respective WebKit browsers. While this news may not be much help to those still desperate for a G2 perm-root, it should come in handy once an easy solution for that is achieved, as it will facilitate the creation of custom ROMs for the G2 (and Desire Z). While you wait for that happy day, feel free to peruse the freely available source code for HTC's pair of landscape sliders.
The G2 may have a next-gen MSM7X30 processor, but unfortunately, HTC and T-Mobile have decided to clock it at a paltry 800MHz. That's not to say it's unbearably slow; judging by the early reviews, quite the contrary. But still, just imagine what could be done if some wise guy out there overclocked it to something more along the lines of... oh, 1.42GHz.
With the G2 already getting a non-persistent "soft-root" solution, it was only a matter of time before someone combined it into a nice, user-friendly package. Stepping up to the plate (or rather, the crease) is Paul O'Brien, the founder of UK smartphone website MoDaCo, well known for a myriad of clever hacks.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: stock Android is the way to go. I hate it when manufacturers add custom UIs, bloatware, and unnecessary lag to our beloved Android operating system, so, naturally, I was overjoyed to hear that the T-Mobile G2 would ship with a stock build of Android. Early reviewers seem to agree with this, and overall, they seem to think highly of the device. Let's take a look at some of those reviews that have been posted so far.
We've known it was coming for some time now, but T-Mobile just sent out a press release including details regarding their plans for a WiFi Calling application for their Android phones. The new T-Mobile myTouch will launch later this year with the feature, and the Motorola Defy will be receiving it as well. Additionally, the T-Mobile G2 should be getting it in the coming months, along with the LG Optimus and possibly the Motorola Charm.
Well, we didn't see this one coming. Hackers over at XDA-Developers have discovered that there is a hardware chip limiting the hackability of the G2, undermining the owner's ability to customize the Android OS. The chip acts as a rootkit and over-writes modifications to the /system partition after rebooting.
Over at XDA-Developers, Hitorii just got his sweet new T-Mobile G2. Naturally, before even opening the box, he went and told everyone about it. Wouldn't you? I am super jealous, anyway.
This morning, T-Mobile sent out the press release officially announcing the T-Mobile G2. The release mentioned that the phone would be available for pre-order in limited quantites for existing T-Mobile customers later this month - but that doesn't quite jibe with the fact that Best Buy's pre-sale begins tomorrow for a very reasonable $200 (with 2 year contract, obviously). They even mention an official release date: October 6.
T-Mobile sent out a press release this morning to officially announce the G2. We've been hearing about (and seeing) the G2 for some time now, especially in the past few weeks. Now, however, we have the official word - and it seems to confirm most of what we've heard.
