T-Mobile announced on its Twitter account that it will offer the Samsung Sidekick 4G and T-Mobile G2 for free on its website tonight from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. PST. Customers will need to sign up for a new two-year T-Mobile USA contract to take advantage of the deal and, presumably because T-Mobile sales reps didn’t feel like making it a late night, this is an online-only deal. If you’re looking for one of the best keyboards on an Android phone (Sidekick 4G), or a pure vanilla Android experience (G2), and access  to T-Mobile’s 4G network, this is a deal you’ll definitely want to take advantage of.

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In a move that smacks convention right in the face with the back of its hand, T-Mobile has raised the prices of two old smartphones. Rumors of such a move have been circulating for a while but logic and reason made it hard for us to believe such a move would ever be carried out. But alas. The gray-haired T-Mobile myTouch 4G and T-Mobile G2 have both been bumped from $199.99 to $249.99 on contract. $250 is a steep price for last year’s gear, especially considering how fast Android evolves. We’re now looking at dual-core demons and T-Mobile wants a premium for old wares? Luckily, some other phones have seen price adjustments in the proper direction, including the myTouch 3G Slide ($99.99), the Samsung Gravity T ($29.99), the Gravity 3 ($19.99) and the Smiley (free).

[Via Tmonews]

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Several BGR readers have emailed us to point out a new limited-time promotion T-Mobile is running, and we’re glad they did because it’s quite an attractive deal. The caveat: you’ll have to put all those shiny new dual-core Android phones from CES out of your mind, and ignore the second wave of next-generation smartphones set to be announced later this month at MWC. With that out of the way, T-Mobile is offering not one but two free T-Mobile G2 smartphones with the activation of a new unlimited two-line family plan. The carrier will also waive both activation fees, normally $35 a piece, and ship your new smartphones to you for free. The plan runs $179.99 per month all-in, and includes unlimited nationwide voice calling, text messaging and data — “4G” data, no less — for both phones. This is a Web-only promotion and T-Mobile hasn’t said how long this limited-time deal will last, so hit the read link for the rest of the details.

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The Consumer Electronics Show was packed to the brim this year with forthcoming Android phones and tablets, but truth be told, T-Mobile didn’t have much to offer in the way of beastly new smartphones to look forward to. Now, it’s entirely possible that the scrappy carrier is saving most of its goodies for Mobile World Congress next month, but some of you may be in need of a new smartphone and can’t wait a month or more to get it. You’re in luck — from now through Thursday, January 20th, T-Mobile is offering its latest Google-powered QWERTY slider for the low, low price of free-fifty. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line and prepare to sit on the sidelines for the next 24 months while new Android smartphones continue to launch and best each other on a near-monthly basis.

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Dear hardware OEMs: Resistance. Is. Futile. It seems as though the gang over in the IRC channel #G2Root xda-developers have found a permanent rooting solution for T-Mobile’s HTC G2 handset. As you may recall, the rooting community ran into a little hiccup with the Android 2.2 device due to an auto-restore feature aimed at helping the average consumer un-brick their handset. The new solution comes just days after HTC released the source code for the G2 on their website. The root exploit for the G2 is far from production-ready, but it does look like the software is well on its way to getting the one-click treatment.

UPDATE: Quick correction — As Aaron pointed out in the comments, the G2 root was originally discovered by members of the #G2root IRC channel; an XDA forum member announced it. Thanks, Aaron!

[Via Android Spin]

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We’re at T-Mobile’s intimate myTouch event right now (we’re currently snuggling up with all four colors — white, black, red and purple), and here are our first-hand impressions:

• It feels good in the hand. The device is pretty slim, has a slight Android chin at the bottom, and all in all seems to be very solidly-built.
• The screen is beautiful, sharp and bright — but not as good as an AMOLED in our opinion.
• It rocks the myTouch UI that first appeared with the myTouch Slide, though it seems a bit more refined now.
• We’re currently watching Vincent from SlashGear and Sascha from PC Magazine try to establish a video call. It was unsuccessful at first, but it seems like they’re having way too much fun now that it’s working. Never mind, Sascha is yelling at the phone now.
• Watching a demo of the phone streaming video to a TV set was pretty cool. After some quick initial buffering, movies, photos and YouTube played effortlessly on the HDTV.

We’re pretty excited for the launch of the new myTouch. It’s packed with features and it nicely compliments T-Mobile’s stock Android G2 device as a younger-focused counterpart. Hit the jump for our full gallery, ok?

Click on over to our T-Mobile myTouch hands on gallery!

Kids, don’t try this at home. Seriously. Despite the fact that the Internet let out a collective gasp when the T-Mobile G2 was revealed to sport an 800MHz processor, the handset is fantastically responsive out of the box. But that won’t stop the good folks over at xda-developers from ripping T-Mobile’s latest G-phone apart, of course. Forum member coolbho3000 has posted all the goodies one would need to overclock a T-Mobile G2 to a blistering 1.42GHz. While we recommend strongly against attempting the mod unless you really know what you’re doing, that shouldn’t stop anyone from ogling the results of this great hack. Hit the jump for a video of the G2 tearing through benchmarks like a champ.

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We’ve just been tipped off that the gang over at #G2Root have discovered the source code for the T-Mobile G2 online. The G2 recently made news for a failsafe measure included in the device that makes rooting and/or flashing the handset quite difficult. The code weighs in at around 82 megabytes; the download link is waiting for you after the break. It will be interesting to see what the G2-tinkering community can come up with.

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Yesterday, news broke that T-Mobile would be releasing an update to their G2 handset; bringing Wi-Fi Calling and mobile hotspot creation to the Android 2.2 device. Today, T-Mobile has released a statement that doesn’t exactly refute the rollout of said update, but it certainly doesn’t make us confident that it will be hitting the G-Deuce today. T-Mobile wrote:

Wi-Fi Calling and tethering/Wi-Fi sharing are not currently supported on the T-Mobile G2. T-Mobile knows these features are important to consumers and we’re working to deliver them to G2 users in the future. We have nothing further to announce at this time.

If you’re a G2 user, it looks like you’ll just have to wait and see if the Software Update Fairy pays a visit to your device.

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It looks like T-Mobile is pushing out an over-the-air update to their recently released G2 handset that packs a couple of handy features. According to users over at xda-developers, the update brings Wi-Fi Calling, mobile hotspot creation, an update to the radio code, and several other performance tweaks. We’re sure the new code will be welcomed with open arms by those of you who have already picked up a G2. If you’re rocking said handset, and install the OTA update, let us know what you find!

[Via AndroidPolice]

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In case you haven’t been keeping up on your HTC G2 news: The recently released Android 2.2, G2 handset from T-Mobile has a built-in security feature that is having an adverse effect on those who are trying to root the device. As T-Mobile explains:

The HTC software implementation on the G2 stores some components in read-only memory as a security measure to prevent key operating system software from becoming corrupted and rendering the device inoperable. There is a small subset of highly technical users who may want to modify and re-engineer their devices at the code level, known as “rooting,” but a side effect of HTC’s security measure is that these modifications are temporary and cannot be saved to permanent memory. As a result the original code is restored.

This is good for those users who are not interest in root access; as the chance of a bricked device become slimmer. It is however not so good for that “subset of highly technical users” who are trying to get their electronic mitts on the G2′s innards. It appears as though the Android-tinkering community will just have to be a little more creative than usual with the G2.

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Well, this one came out of nowhere… T-Mobile has just introduced the new myTouch, and it’s a beauty. Packed with a 1GHz Snapdragon MSM8255 CPU, 5 megapixel camera, 3.8″ display, and front facing camera, the new T-Mobile myTouch compliments the new T-Mobile G2, and pushes the myTouch lineup forward. T-Mobile is making video chat available over 3G networks not just Wi-Fi, which is a great feature, in addition to HSPA+, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card, and Android 2.2. The new myTouch will come in 4 colors, white, black, red, and plum, and it will be “available in time for the holidays.” So, what’s it going to be? G2 or the new myTouch? One more photo after the break followed by the press release!

T-Mobile USA, Inc. will announce a new addition to its exclusive line of Android™-powered T-Mobile® myTouch® smartphones and the continued expansion of its new super-fast HSPA+ mobile broadband network. Built with families in mind, the newest T-Mobile myTouch helps solve the challenges of staying physically and emotionally connected by sharing photos and video with the HD Camcorder, spontaneous face-to-face conversations through Video Chat and ability to reach 4G speeds on T-Mobile’s new network which is now available in more cities across the country. ¹

Unlike other video calling solutions on the market that only work through Wi-Fi, Video Chat on the new myTouch enables customers to connect with loved ones spontaneously from practically anywhere through T-Mobile’s network or Wi-Fi.  With the myTouch’s front facing camera paired with Video Chat, customers can hold video conversations with friends and family who have a new T-Mobile myTouch, other compatible mobile device or capable PC.  Customers can even see who is available to chat through presence information integrated into the myTouch’s address book.

Designed specifically to deliver 4G speeds on T-Mobile’s rapidly expanding HSPA+ network, the new myTouch will offer customers blazing fast access to websites, applications, videos, downloads and more.  T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network is the most pervasive mobile broadband network in the country offering 4G speeds in more than 65 major metropolitan areas.

With its latest expansion, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ footprint now includes Biloxi, and Gulfport, Miss.; Denver, Colo.; Huntsville, Ala.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Sacramento, Calif. and West Palm Beach, Fla. T-Mobile expects to reach 100 major metropolitan areas and 200 million people in 2010.

Families also can share moments in high definition with the myTouch’s high-quality HD Camcorder with Screen Share, which allows customers to share or broadcast HD video and pictures they’ve captured. With a few touches of the screen, customers can share their photo album, videos and movies wirelessly with a compatible HDTV or other DLNA device. The new phone also includes three exclusive myTouch features: Genius Button™, powered by Dragon Dictation from Nuance, which lets customers call, text, e-mail or access the internet with a simple voice command; Faves Gallery™ which offers shortcuts to one’s most-contacted family and friends; and myModes which creates customized home screens for work and home.

Designed by HTC exclusively for T-Mobile, the new myTouch features a brilliant 3.8-inch WVGA touch-screen display with virtual keyboard and Swype® for easy text input. The thin and sleek device also comes with a blazing fast second-generation Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 1GHz MSM8255 processor optimized for speed and graphic performance, a 5-megapixel camera, a pre-installed 8GB microSD memory card, and an integrated media player that brings together favorite music, video and internet radio under one set of controls.

Powered by Android 2.2, the myTouch offers a rich mobile Web experience and access to over 80,000 applications on Android Market™ from games to location-based social networks to on-the-go shopping and more. The new device also features pre-loaded HD games, including Rock Band, Asphalt 5 and Monopoly.

The new T-Mobile myTouch is expected to be available in time for the holidays, exclusively from

T-Mobile USA in four colors —white, black, plum or red. Customers can visit http://mytouch.t-mobile.com for more information.

T-Mobile will now offer 4G speeds on the new myTouch and the T-Mobile G2™ as well as the webConnect Rocket™ 2.0 and Rocket laptop sticks. In addition, customers located in new HSPA+ locations can benefit from faster speeds on their existing 3G smartphones – including popular devices such as the myTouch 3G Slide and Samsung Vibrant™.²

T-Mobile just hooked us up with a brand new T-Mobile G2, and we of course wanted to share some first impressions and photos with you. When you pick up the phone for the first time, it feels a bit heavy, but it’s a quality feeling of heavy and not something that you’re really going to care much about. The screen looks great, and being a Super LCD, it’s a little better than a normal LCD and a little worse in some ways than a Super AMOLED display. At 3.7″ we feel it’s the perfect size for maximum usability. Let’s flip to the keyboard… interesting. The hinge mechanism is pretty cool, basically it just springs into action and reveals a pretty spacious QWERTY keyboard. It’s clicky enough, and reminds us a little of the Touch Pro2, for better or worse. The device runs a 800MHz Snapdragon CPU, and while the clock speed is slower than the 1GHz and soon-to-launch 1.2GHz chips powering Android handsets, T-Mobile tells us that the chip is the first off of the new Snapdragon chip line up and it should be able to go head to head with the higher clocked devices. From our limited time using the device, we’d agree but we will follow up on that in our expansive review. For now, hit the gallery for all the sexy photos, and make sure you drop whatever questions you may have in the comments so we can try and answer them in our review!

Click on over to our T-Mobile G2 hands on gallery!

As reported, the G2 from T-Mobile is up for pre-order — for existing customers — starting today. The pre-order window will last from now until October 4 and the device will be on-sale to the general public starting on October 6. You can pre-purchase yourself a G2 for 249 American dollars and a $50 mail-in-rebate will bring the total cost down to $199. Current customers interested in the early-bird special can direct their browsers to g2.t-mobile.com, login, and order up.

If you are a member of the Magenta faithful, and dutifully awaiting the release of the G2, there is good news. It appears as though T-Mobile will begin taking pre-orders for the G2, starting tomorrow, for existing customers. A document acquired by TMoNews reads: “From September 24 through October 4, existing T-Mobile customers will be given the exclusive opportunity to pre-order the T-Mobile G2 with Google at select T-Mobile retail stores, through Care upgrades, and online at http://G2.t-mobile.com.” The memo goes on to detail that the general release date of the handset is October 6. Anyone going to pre-order a G-Tizzy tomorrow?

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