Samsung Galaxy S 4G from T-Mobile

BUILD & DESIGN

This phone is extremely thin and light. It measures 4.8-inches long, 2.5-inches wide, and 0.4-inches thick, and weighs just over four ounces. Unlike some modern smartphones that will hardly fit in your largest pocket, the Galaxy S 4G won’t add any bulk to your mobile lifestyle.

The sides of the phone are shiny silver, and the back cover is a platinum gray color with a cool color shifting effect. There’s nothing flashy or garish about this phone, but it does stand out from the pack in a good way.

The Galaxy S 4G can be somewhat “slippery” and difficult to hold on to because it’s so smooth. It doesn’t have any prominent ridges, and is rather curved at the sides. The only slight bump is at the bottom edge on the back, but that may not be enough to help you figure out which end is which when you dig it out of your pocket or bag.

Since the power and volume buttons are almost flush mounted, they don’t stick out enough to give you much of a clue about which way you’re holding the phone — you’ll have to look.

Aside from my slight frustration with the slipperiness of the phone, I found the Galaxy S 4G to be of excellent build quality. The phone feels solid in the hand and is well made. You won’t find any bending, creaking, or flimsy parts here.

Display
The 4-inch Super AMOLED display is simply gorgeous. While I might not often want to watch full length movies on the small screen, the clarity and detail are just outstanding. Colors are rich and sharp, and I can see everything clearly, be it text on a web page, photos, videos, or games. Even when I look very closely, I can see little to no evidence of jagginess or pixelization on the 800 x 480 pixel display.

I also found the screen to be entirely readable outside in direct sunlight, though of course the colors did wash out a bit. The screen can be a bit too bright indoors, at least for my taste. I found myself turning off the automatic brightness control in the settings area so that I could dial it down just a bit.

Keyboard
You’ll be relying on the on-screen virtual keyboard here, since the Galaxy S 4G doesn’t have a physical QWERTY keyboard. Thankfully the Swype technology is included, so you should be typing quickly and accurately with a minimum of practice. That’s especially important since this phone is relatively narrow in portrait mode, so the keyboard keys are rather long and narrow too.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Swype is a text entry method in which you slide you finger from letter to letter, rather than pecking at each one. It’s become quite popular in the last year or so, and Samsung put it on virtually all its phones.

Swype is smart enough that it does a very good job of reading your mind. If it ever isn’t sure about a particular word choice, a handy menu pops up with several likely choices, and a single tap is all that is needed to pick the right word and move on.

Other Buttons & Controls
The menu, home, back, and search “buttons” are touch-sensitive areas located directly under the screen on the front of the Galaxy S 4G.

The charge/sync port is at the top of the phone, and is covered by a sliding door. I really like that extra touch, because phone ports can get really dusty/linty if your bag is full of junk.

The headphone jack is also up top, the power button is on the right side, and the volume button is on the left side.

As mentioned above, the keys are very small and don’t stick out much at all — until you become more familiar with the device, you will likely have to look each time you want to find and activate a button.

The microSD card slot and the SIM card slot are located on the back side of the phone, underneath the back cover. I was glad to see that neither one of those slots was stuck under the battery. While you do have to take off the back cover to access them, the cover is easy to remove and replace.

PERFORMANCE

The Samsung Galaxy S 4G is snappy all around, whether you’re switching between applications or using the web browser. The combination of a fast processor with a fast network made it a joy to use in all circumstances.

It runs Google Android OS 2.2 on a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, a user-friendly operating system that has become very popular. On top of this is Samsung’s own TouchWiz, which makes a few modifications to the user interface.

I did find the lock screen one to be rather annoying, however — it doesn’t use the puzzle piece standard I’ve grown accustomed to on other Android devices. Instead you have to swipe the lock screen far enough to unlock the device, which is harder than it sounds. If you’re not forceful and aggressive with the movement, the lock screen “snaps” back into place and you have to try again. I believe this is part of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, and it’s not something you can turn off in the Settings app. It’s a small frustration, but a very real one that annoyed me every single time I had to wake the phone.

Communication
Voice quality on this phone was somewhat disappointing, though not horrible. One of my test callers complained that everything sounded “buzzy” while another said that it sounded as though there were plastic wrap over the microphone. There weren’t any major problems with background noise, it’s just that everything seemed rather muted–perhaps the noise cancellation feature was a bit overactive, causing human voices to lose their depth and richness of tone.

I got the same results whether I was making a regular cellular call or using the built-in Wi-Fi calling feature. I really enjoyed using Wi-Fi calling, because it made the phone much more reliable in my office. The feature still uses your plan minutes, but it’s a big plus if your office or home happens to be in a dead zone and you have access to a wireless network.

I was able to connect to my home and office Wi-Fi networks with no problems at all, and Bluetooth works as expected.

The Galaxy S 4G has replaced the Samsung Vibrant in T-Mobile’s product lineup because the two are very similar, but only the new model offers support for this carrier’s HSPA+ network. I’m fortunate to have access to T-Mobile’s 4G network here in Dallas, and it really sings — downloads, navigation, and web browsing are all blazing fast. It was refreshing not to open a web page and have to wait (what seems like) forever for it to load. If you’re in a 4G area, you will likely be thrilled with how fast you can accomplish network-dependent tasks.

In theory, this smartphone should be able to download data as fast as 21 Mbps, but reality is something different. According to the benchmarking app Speed Test, in my real-world test this smartphone achieved download speeds of 4.088 Kbps and upload speeds of 1.305 Kbps on the 4G network. That’s with 4 signal bars.

The social networking experience on the Galaxy S 4G is good, though I missed the tight integration/unification of all of my online social info provided by the FriendStream application on the HTC Android devices I’ve tested in the past.

Facebook is pre-installed, of course, though you will have to go to the Android Market to get the free Twitter app. Thanks to the blazing fast speed of the Galaxy S and the multiple home screens that make launching your favorite apps a matter of a swipe and a tap, keeping up with your friends is simple and fun.

The email and web experiences are also good. There’s not too much to say here since this is pretty standard across all Android-based devices. The controls are straightforward, and you can choose which Gmail labels to sync. You can star, archive, and delete messages, and if you use the menu, you can mark individual messages as important or report spam (the latter takes two taps now).

You’ll find smooth scrolling in the web browser, as well as outstanding performance if you’re in a 4G area. The flash support works, though the experience isn’t very smooth. Animations were slow and sometimes rather jerky, and in one instance, the edges of the site kept getting cut off because it wasn’t being properly sized for the screen. I couldn’t manipulate any of the controls at moodstream.gettyimages.com either.

Productivity
Calendar, contacts, a memo pad, basic calculator, alarm clock, a news & weather app, and a file manager are all included with the Galaxy S 4G, and they work just as you would expect them to.

The first two, calendar and contacts, pull down all of the information from your Google account so you’re always up to date. ThinkFree Office is pre-loaded, so you’ll have access to your Microsoft Office files.

There’s also a Mini Diary app that is very cool if you’re into journaling; it provides a space each day to enter your thoughts and you can add a photo to each entry as well, either from the camera or from the photos already stored on the device. When you save each entry, it includes your GPS location as well, so that you’ll always know where you’ve been.

If navigation is your thing, there’s plenty here to check out. Google Latitude and Places are pre-loaded, as well as Google Maps. TeleNav GPS is pre-loaded, with free basic access to points of interest and turn-by-turn directions. If you are interested in real time traffic updates, traffic camera locations, and voice search capabilities, you’ll have to upgrade to the premium version of the app for an additional $2.99 per month. The directions and maps provided by TeleNav were excellent, clearly spoken and easy to understand. The information is really up to date as well — I didn’t find anything obviously wrong or incorrect.

The included Layer app added a social aspect to navigation, with multiple layers of information. When you first launch the app you might get information about nearby restaurants and shops, but there’s much more than that. Tap the layers tab and you’ll find that you can add listings for everything from dating sites and employment listings to entertainment and nightlife to local parks and even crime reports.

While it’s a fun app to use in your hometown, it will be even more valuable for road warriors — if you’re constantly traveling, Layar can help you get the lay of the land much more quickly and break you out of the rut of eating in the hotel restaurant every night.

Two more navigation aids round out the on-the-go package. Car Home provides a quick access screen that includes voice search, navigation, maps, phone, contacts, music, and settings. You can also mute all sounds with a single touch, or dim the display so it’s less distracting when driving at night.

If you’re an extra responsible driver, you’ll probably appreciate DriveSmart, an app that “encourages safe driving” by automatically silencing notifications, routing calls straight to voice mail, and even providing customized automatic responses that let your callers know that you’ll get back to them when you’re not behind the wheel. A DriveSmart upgrade is available on the Android Market which starts the app automatically by using speed detection to tell when you’re driving, plus parental controls parents can use to help their teenagers stay safe on the road.

Entertainment
The Android built-in Music Player app is rather basic, but it works: view a list of all songs or group them by playlist, album, or artist. Amazon MP3 is pre-loaded, as well as the doubleTwist app that syncs iTunes playlists, podcasts, and videos from your Mac or PC.

The Galaxy S 4G  gaming experience is a very good one, thanks to the extra sharp clarity and bright colors of the Super AMOLED screen and the powerful external speaker. Angry Birds and Jewels look better than ever, and I didn’t experience any lag or crashes or any other problems while playing them. It was slightly disappointing to find that T-Mobile didn’t include any pre-loaded games or even any demos, but there are plenty of options, both free and paid, available in the Android Market.

If you like video, there’s plenty to choose from here. YouTube videos look fantastic. They automatically expand to fill the whole screen, and the clarity (depending on the original source, of course) is very impressive. If you want to watch live TV, the T-Mobile TV app is included. It’s very easy to use, with several live music and sports channels, plus a good selection of network shows.

The Amazon Kindle app is pre-loaded, and if you’ve already got some Kindle books in your account they will appear on your device as soon as you sign in. The reading experience with the Android app is just the same as on iOS or PC, so it should be familiar to old users and easy to figure out for new users.

Camera
The Galaxy S 4G’s rear-facing five megapixel camera takes very nice photos. Regular photos are clear and sharp, and certainly good enough for everyday memories. The zoom feature generally works well, though depending on what you’re shooting you may see moderate loss of detail. If you look at my sample photos, this is especially true for the church, as it is impossible to make out the individual bricks so the building looks a little fuzzy.

The camera does take a while to focus, so if you’re trying to catch an action shot, you need to press the shutter a little early if you’re going to capture the moment. As you can see from the image taken on a busy street corner, it was hard to capture a car before it had almost completely left the frame.

There are several different shooting modes, including beauty (for portraits), smile shot, panorama, and vintage. You can tweak the white balance to match the situation, and you can also set the camera to send photos to an online album, a new email, or a particular recipient by default.

While I found it frustrating that I had to tap a tiny little arrow on the screen to access the camera settings, because the standard menu button wouldn’t work, that is a relatively minor complaint. Most users will find that the camera on the Galaxy S 4G is good enough for everyday use, though it won’t replace a dedicated digital camera for special events.

This smartphone also includes a front-facing VGA camera for video chats, as well as the QIK video chat software. This app is about to be replaced by Skype, so I didn’t see a point in testing out something that’s going away very soon.

Battery Life
I’m very pleased with the battery life experience offered by the Galaxy S 4G. It lasted five days with light use: watching about 30 minutes of Inception, downloading and playing three games, with some email and web surfing plus three or four calls each day.

With much heavier use, taking lots of photo to try out the camera and one long session surfing YouTube, I was able to get through almost two complete days. The battery was down to about 20% by the time the evening commute came around, but I was able to read in the Kindle app until I was able to plug in the phone when I got home.

CONCLUSION

The Samsung Galaxy S 4G is an entertainment powerhouse. If you’re looking for a phone that can offer excellent photo and video quality, with excellent choices for live and on-demand TV, this is the phone for you. The screen is gorgeous, the battery life is impressive, the camera/camcorder capture everyday memories with excellent quality, and the gaming experience is fun.

Though there were some issues with voice quality and a few minor frustrations relating to the lock screen and access to the camera settings, the Galaxy S 4G is a solid device with some impressive features.

If you’re more interested in Facebook, gaming, video, and email than you are in gabbing on the phone, this is the device for you. Voice quality isn’t horrible by any means, or even particularly bad, but it is the weakest point for what is, in all other respects, a powerful and fun device.

Pros

• Thin and light
• Excellent screen
• Good sound quality
• Highly responsive
• Useful bundled apps
• Excellent battery life

Cons

• Slippery to hold
• Disappointing voice quality
• Frustrating lock screen
• Flash web experience can be glitchy and frustrating

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BUILD & DESIGN

The Nexus S looks like most smartphones available today, with a black exterior and a minimum of buttons and controls so that the overall look is streamlined and modern. Then again, you might have trouble picking out your phone if you put it on a table next to a few other smartphones at dinner, because there is nothing that really stands out about the Nexus S in a stylistic sense.

At 4.8-inches by 2.48-inches and 0.43-inches thick. the Nexus S is comparable to other large-screen smartphones available today. It does seem to be somewhat lighter than many of the other phones I’ve recently reviewed–when I first took it out of the box I looked for a battery to install, but it was already in the device. It might create a bulge in your pocket, but it won’t weigh you down. My key ring, with its large assortment of office and home keys, weighs more than the Nexus S.

Display
The screen on the Nexus S is simply beautiful. It’s a 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) Super AMOLED display, so it is extremely sharp and bright. Even when I’m outside in full sunlight I can see the display clearly, which is a nice change from squinting and trying to shade the screen with my hand. There isn’t any ghosting during video playback, and photos looks especially vibrant.

It’s also the first phone with a Contour display, which means exactly what it sounds like — the screen of the phone is slightly curved. The idea is to make it more comfortable in your hand and against your face, when you’re using the Nexus S as a phone. The curve is quite subtle, I didn’t notice too much of a difference except that the phone does seem to fit in my hand a little better than other devices I’ve reviewed recently.

There is an anti-fingerprint coating on the screen, and while I can’t say that it works perfectly — there are still plenty of fingerprints on the screen — it does seem to extend the time between my compulsive screen wiping and cleaning sessions. I simply can’t stand smudgy screens, so something that cuts down on the frustration is a step in the right direction, and the Nexus S delivers on that point.

Keyboard
The Nexus S doesn’t have a physical keyboard, so you’ll be doing your text entry on the virtual on-screen one. This has been improved in this new version of Google’s operating system, so you’ll see slightly larger keys thanks to an optimized, clutter-free layout. It has punctuation at the top for convenience, and works quite nicely.

Of course you can bypass the keyboard entirely using Google’s speech recognition, which works amazingly well on the Nexus S. No matter which way you choose, text entry is fast and easy.

Other Buttons & Controls
The Nexus S has very few buttons or other hardware features. The power button is on the upper right side of the device, and the volume rocker is on the left.

The only other controls are the standard Back, Menu, Search, and Home controls underneath the display, the camera lens on the back, and the headphone jack and charge/sync port on the bottom edge of the device.

There is no microSD card slot, which is unfortunate. I know that everything is “in the cloud” these days, but I like to keep a lot of music, photos, and ebooks on my device, and the 16 GB of internal memory can fill up all too fast since there’s no option to add more with an expansion card.

PERFORMANCE

Under the hood, the Samsung Nexus S is powered by a 1 GHz Samsung Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor. It is extremely fast, carrying out my every desire almost immediately. The only slowdowns I noticed were network related (more on this point later).

Android OS 2.3 — sometimes better known by its code-name: Gingerbread – includes a number of small improvements throughout that leads to a better overall experience. There are more options on calendar appointments, and the new copy and paste scheme is truly delightful.

A simple tap on a word brings up the text markers, and you can move them to the beginning and the end of what you want to copy by sliding them to the proper spot on the screen. The word or phrase is then automatically copied to the clipboard. I love the new method, because it is so much easier to use and so much more precise than what previous versions of Android could offer. No more worries about random spaces or punctuation marks getting in the way because it is now much easier to copy exactly what you want.

Some Nexus S users have complained about some troubling glitches — random reboots, text messages being sent to the wrong contact, and some graphical issues with icons on the homescreen. I haven’t encountered any of those problems on this test device, but enough users have complained that it seems likely these aren’t isolated issues.

Communication
Unfortunately, call quality on this device is very poor. One of my test subjects likened it to “a tin can connected to a tin can” and another said that I sounded very tinny and distant. In both cases I could hear them on the other end very well, they just had problems hearing me. It wasn’t due to background noise either, because none of my callers were able to identify exactly what was going on the background (construction, children at a playground, a nearby fountain, or a busy street).

I don’t have a great deal of experience with T-Mobile, so this could be a network issue, but I live in a major city and tried the phone inside and outside of my office, at home, and while I was out shopping, with notable voice quality issues each time.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work great, though I’m not too happy about the new Wi-Fi settings screen. When you join a new network you don’t get the quick and simple user name and password box anymore; that area is farther down and requires scrolling past security certificates, etc. to access. I’m not sure why Google decided to rearrange things to make it more difficult to join a new network, but at least it’s the sort of thing you usually do just once when you set up the phone.

The email and web browsing experience is also great, as I have come to expect on Android devices. Reading my Gmail or navigating from page to page on the Web is fast, with smooth scrolling and a rich experience.

There aren’t any social networking apps included, but you can get Facebook and Twitter clients on the Android Market, most of them for free.

Productivity
The Samsung Nexus S has all of the standard PIM apps that you would expect to find on any Android phone, including calendar, contacts, clock, calculator, and a News & Weather app that provides the local weather forecast and all of the top news and sports headlines.

Gingerbread brings some enhancements in this area, most notably with the addition of guests/invitations in the calendar app and time zone support for appointments. The new appointment interface is much cleaner than before, and more attractive.

The new features in Google Maps 5.0 with Navigation are quite impressive. Multi-touch allows you to use two fingers to explore 3D maps, dragging up and down to tilt and twisting to rotate the map. There’s a compass mode that reorients the map to the direction you’re facing, and improvements to map caching with offline rerouting means that you won’t lose your way even if you lose your data connection. I like being able to choose between driving, biking, walking, and public transit directions, and I was perfectly directed on each of my test trips.

There is no Microsoft Office compatible software included with the phone, such as QuickOffice, but if you receive a Microsoft Word or Excel document as an email attachment you will be able to view it with the built-in ThinkFree Write Mobile or ThinkFree Calc Mobile. There are also more productivity apps available on the Android Market.

Entertainment
The Android OS music player will keep you entertained listening to your favorite tunes. The external speaker will is capable of extremely loud volumes if you desire, with a minimum of distortion. Plus, there’s a video player if you want to transfer TV shows or movies you get off the Web. Just keep in mind that 16 GB storage limit I mentioned earlier.

The included YouTube client showcases web videos quite nicely, with full screen viewing and good sound quality.

Since the Nexus S is sold as an unlocked phone, you won’t find all of the games and demos you typically see on phones that have been more heavily customized by mobile carriers. I downloaded a few games from the Android Market and found that my usual favorites like Jewels and Sudoku played well, with no stuttering or lag and with bright vivid colors.

If you have some time to kill and want to play games or watch videos, the Nexus S can definitely handle your mobile entertainment needs.

Camera
The Nexus S has two cameras, one on the back that takes five megapixel still photos and can capture video as well, plus a VGA camera on the front for video calling.

The five megapixel camera takes excellent photos, even under difficult lighting conditions, and I’m impressed with the level of quality and detail I was able to capture.

White balance, flash, scene mode, focus mode (including macro), and exposure are all easily adjusted by tapping on the screen, though I was disappointed by the lack of any sort of zoom capability.

The only other issue is with action shots, as demonstrated by my photo of cars speeding by on a busy street. You might be able to capture some sports shots if you’re lucky, but you may end up with some blurring or may miss the shot if the camera isn’t able to work fast enough to keep up with you. It works best for portrait and landscape shots, so if you’re planning to take lots of kid or pet shots this might not be the best cameraphone for you.

Battery Life
You won’t have to worry about running out of juice with the Nexus S, because it seems to go on and on forever. I can get three days of relatively heavy use out of it, with Wi-Fi on, taking shots with the camera, constantly checking my email, and watching two or three YouTube videos each day.

You should certainly be able to make it through the day without having your phone go dead during your evening commute, and you might even be able to get away without packing the charger on a weekend trip.

CONCLUSION

I like the Samsung Nexus S, mostly because of Android OS 2.3/Gingerbread, the responsive nature of the device — I hate waiting for apps to open — and the nice camera.

It’s not perfect, though. While this smartphone generally performed well and I didn’t see any of the glitches that have plagued other users, I’m extremely disappointed with the voice quality of the device when I’m on phone calls.

Of course it’s important to have a great email and web browsing experience, and there are times when you have a few spare minutes to play games or watch a video on YouTube, and it’s great that our phone can do all of those things. But they should first of all be really good phones, and the Nexus S doesn’t live up to my standards in that regard. It is possible that the issues I experienced are all due to the T-Mobile network in my area, but that is impossible to know for sure.

If you have strong T-Mobile coverage in your area, or are planning to use the Nexus S with another GSM carrier such as AT&T, it deserves a closer look because it performed well in all other respects.

Pros

• Latest version of the Android OS
• Excellent screen
• Responsive device
• Good photo quality, with accessible controls for white balance, exposure, scene mode, etc.
• Light weight
• Good volume and sound quality on external speaker
• Long battery life

Cons

• Extremely low voice quality
• No memory card slot
• No zoom on the camera

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BUILD & DESIGN

The G2 is a very well built, solid phone. It’s plastic with aluminum accents and battery door, giving it a high-quality feel. It’s substantial without being heavy. It feels comfortable to drop it in my pocket to carry around, and I hardly notice it is there.

Screen
The 3.7-inch WVGA (800 x 640) Super-TFT touchscreen is very sharp, and seems to have the right amount of sensitivity. On my old T-Mobile G1, I often found myself needing to swipe more than once to get the screen to change or browse through apps. I rarely need to do that on the G2.

The on-screen keyboard (for use with the device in portrait mode) is also accurate, and I rarely miss a letter, which for me is an accomplishment.

This device also has a sensor near the top of the screen that detects ambient light levels and adjusts the screen brightness accordingly. This works surprisingly well, and only occasionally seems to get dim briefly when in normal light, but usually will correct quickly.

Overall I am very impressed with the screen quality and touch sensitivity.

Keyboard
One of the big draws for me to the G2 was the hardware keyboard. Even though touchscreen keyboards have improved, I still prefer a physical keyboard when doing any lengthy typing. I thought the G1 had one of the best hardware keyboards of any phone I have used, and was anxious to try its successor.

The G2′s keyboard is accessed by pushing on the bottom in landscape mode (the left side in portrait mode), and it rises up and back, then folds down flush again. This is called a “Z Hinge” by HTC, and has proved to be a bit controversial. Many find it too easy to open, possibly a result of some loose hinges in early batches. I am happy to say that I have not had this problem. I can hold the phone upside down and the keyboard does not fall open for me. It only opens and closes when I intend it to.

Although I would rank the keyboard below the one on my G1, it is still a very good keyboard. The G1 had 5 rows of keys, with the fifth being a dedicated number row, which I found very useful. The G2 has four rows of keys, and therefore you have to use the ALT key to enter numbers.

There are also three user-assignable buttons. There is an app called “quick keys” used to assign them. I set mine up for email, messaging, and Docs to Go.

Overall the keyboard is very good, and the buttons have a good feel to them. They are raised slightly and give good tactile feedback when typing.

Other Buttons & Controls
The front side is taken up mostly by the touchscreen, but there is a trackpad centered near the bottom, just below four touch-sensitive buttons for Home, Menu, Back, and Search. These buttons took a bit to get used to for me. The G1 had physical buttons, and were easier to hit since you could feel them. Still, once I got used to them, I became much more comfortable, and have fewer misfires.

The trackpad is centered below the screen, and has a small border around it that lights up for notifications, and is fairly easy to use. The G1 had a similarly-located trackball, but I find the G2′s trackpad much easier to use.

The left side of the device contains a volume rocker, and a Micro-USB port. The top has the power button and 3.5-mm headphone jack. The right side has a camera button and a battery door release.

The volume rocker on the left, and camera button on the right side both are raised enough to be easy to operate, but not so much that they are easily bumped.

Overall the button layout is very intuitive, probably because of the similarity to the G1.

PERFORMANCE

Performance is where the T-Mobile G2 shines. It runs Google’s Android OS 2.2, AKA Froyo, with little carrier modification. This should mean it will be one of the first in line for any operating system upgrades in the future. It is basically “vanilla” Android, with a bunch of preloaded Google apps. Most of these apps I would have installed anyway, but some people prefer a minimum of pre-installed software.

Although it has a processor rated at 800 MHz, it feels faster than many 1 GHz devices. This is due to the architecture of the Snapdragon MSM7230 processor, and the Adreno 205 GPU. I ran a Quadrant benchmark and it placed higher than the Nexus One with Android OS 2.2, and that model runs a 1 GHz processor.

Don’t let the megahertz on this device fool you — this is the fastest phone I have ever used. I played with the Samsung Vibrant, and the My Touch 4G at the T-Mobile store, and the G2 felt the snappiest overall.

Of course the real test is how well does it play Angry Birds? I can happily say it is silky smooth on the G2, and there has not been a single second of slowness or hesitation while playing it. For those that don’t know, Angry Birds is a large graphics intensive game that can test the performance of many phones. It ground my G1 to a halt when playing it.

I use an app called Touchdown for work email and calendar synchronization, and it opens very quickly. So far I have not found an app that really slows it down.

For those of you who are daring, the G2 has been rooted and overclocked to 1.9 GHz, with a Quadrant benchmark of 2800, which is insane fast.

The phone has 512 MB of RAM, and 4 GB of internal storage plus a pre-installed 8GB micro SD card, which is expandable to 32 GB.

Wireless/Call Quality
With all of the capabilities of smart phones today, they still need to make phone calls, and the G2 does not disappoint. There were early complaints of radio issues when the G2 was released, but a maintenance release in early November seems to have fixed it. I have not had any dropped calls, or data connectivity issues. I can clearly hear callers, and they hear me clearly as well.

I often use a Bluetooth headset, and that is clear and loud as well. The speaker phone is a tad tinny, but works adequately.

I generally have a solid connection to the T-Mobile high-speed data network, which is indicated in the notification bar with an H when connected to 4G. Using the Speedtest app, I usually get between 4 and 5 Mbps down, and 1.5 to 3 Mbps up, which is pretty good since I am near the edge of the 4G network in Minneapolis.  Using the browser is fast and responsive, and market downloads are amazingly fast. I downloaded a large 28 MB game in under a minute.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections are rock solid, and I never have a problem connecting via Wi-Fi to coffee shop networks, or my home network. I use a Bluetooth headset, and once paired, it automatically connects when I turn on my headset. Also included with the latest maintenance release was Wi-Fi calling and tethering. Wi-Fi calling was easy to setup and use, but does count against your mobile minutes.

Productivity
All of the standard Android OS apps are included with the T-Mobile G2, such as Gmail, Contacts, Calculator, Voice Search, Google Voice, and Email.

There are a few nice, extra touches bundled, including Quickoffice for viewing Office Documents such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Also, there is an App called Car Home. Basically this places large square icons on screen to make it easier to see and select while you are using your smartphone in the car. It has six buttons per screen which are customizable, but default to Navigate, Phone, Voice Search, Contacts, Music, and Exit. There are four screens to swipe through and other buttons can be added.

Other bundled apps include the most common Google apps such as Maps, Sky Map, Google Earth, Goggles, Translate, Listen, Shopper. Twitter, Facebook, and Photobucket. The Facebook and Twitter gadgets are set on one of the screens, but can be removed if wanted.

The Swype keyboard is pre-installed, and has quickly become my favorite touchscreen keyboard. Swype is a way of typing without actually pulling your finger away from the screen to complete words. What you do is draw a line through all of the letters of a word, and the software can recognize it. If there is more than one word recognized, it pops up with a box and you select the correct one. I have gotten to the point I am opening up the hardware keyboard less often because of the accuracy and speed of swipe.

Entertainment
There are no “extra” apps bundled for entertainment on the G2, but for most the stock Android OS apps are adequate.  The built-in Music and Movie players are not exceptional, but work well.

There are many apps both free and for purchase in the market, so there are options. Speaking of options, there are several web browsers available, but honestly I really like the built in browser. I have tried a few others but for various reasons I end up going back to the stock browser. It just works, and with Adobe Flash installed, I have not been to any websites that give me problems.

Camera
The camera is a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, and is capable of HD 720p video recording.

Still images are quite amazing. They rival my Canon 8 megapixel point-and-shoot camera for clarity, and colors are crisp.

The LED flash is usable, and can come in handy in dark situations. Of course it only really helps in close-ups, and will not be of much use more than 3 or 4 feet away.

The stock camera app has adjustments for flash, zoom, white balance, location, focus mode, and exposure. Pictures can also be uploaded to Photobucket or Facebook.

I took a couple of videos in HD, and I was surprised at how well it performed. It has some blurring if there is too much close-up movement, but far away (sports events) it works well.

Battery Life
The battery life is excellent on the G2. I always found myself taking every opportunity to charge with my G1, and even carried a spare battery. Now I can get through an entire day with moderate usage and still have battery to spare.

A 1350 mAh battery is included, but after market 1500 mAh batteries are available, as well as 2800 mAh with an expanded battery door.

A typical usage day for me is like this:

Unplug my phone at around 7:30 AM, check mail, and get the kids off to school. I drive to work using a Bluetooth headset, and my travel time is roughly 1 hour from leaving the house and arriving at work. During my commute I am getting push email from work using Touchdown, and Twitter, Weatherbug, etc are updating every 30 minutes. Usually at work I will occasionally check RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter, email, and at lunch play a game, read news, etc. I have plenty of widgets running and updating all day. I usually use my phone for calls about 1 hour out of the day, and then the drive home is similar to the drive in. I can web surf, play games, check updates etc all evening. At around 9 PM I will have about 40% battery left.

On my old G1 my battery would have died in the early evening with the same usage pattern.

Overall I am quite happy with the battery life, and I haven’t really taken any battery saving steps yet.

CONCLUSION

The T-Mobile G2 is by far the best smartphone I have used. I am still constantly picking it up and playing with it just because it is a joy to use.

Everything is quick, and the battery lasts long enough that I don’t need to worry about it. It works well in all areas, and should be quick to receive operating system updates like the upcoming Gingerbread due to its stock Android OS.

Pros:

• Excellent design
• Fast processor, ample memory
• Keyboard mostly well laid out

Cons:

• No dedicated number row in keyboard,
• Not as thin as many devices
• Long-term use of Z Hinge unknown

By far the stand-out feature of the Curve 8520 is its new optical trackpad, which replaces the trackball for navigation – and it rocks.

In a confusing move though, the 8520 is the third Curve available on T-Mobile, in addition to the original and the 8900, which was released early this year.

The 8250 has several elements that depart from traditional BlackBerrys, beyond just the trackpad. Features such as dedicated media keys across the top of the device, a smaller LED indicator, updated look for the call and end-call keys, and new ‘hidden’ convenience keys on the side of the phone all work together to position the 8250 to expand its reach to younger market segments that other BlackBerrys have failed to capture.

Other areas such as the screen and lack of 3G (though it does have Wi-Fi) indicate that RIM and T-Mobile weren’t willing to pull out all the stops for this one.

BUILD & DESIGN

Optical Trackpad
The Curve 8250 sports an optical trackpad rather than the usual trackball for navigation. Immediately after unboxing the phone, I felt the trackpad was an improvement over the ball, and haven’t looked back since.

The pad employs all the same gestures as the ball, and it feels similar to using a trackpad on your laptop. You can click the pad to select an option the same way you would with the trackball. The pad does not light up (it’s solid, and has no backlight).

An improvement I would like to see in future generations is the ability to continue scrolling by resting my finger on an edge of the pad. For me, this would be the ultimate in accuracy, ease of use, and functionality. There is little to criticize about the trackpad other than having to get used to its speed – otherwise this is a job well done, RIM.

Redesigned Side Keys & Other Styling
In addition to the trackpad, another departure from other BlackBerrys is the design of the convenience keys on the side. There is a rubber strip that wraps around the perimeter of the entire device, encompassing the keys on the sides. This makes the side keys of the 8250 look as if they’re bulging out beneath the rubber (see here).

This is a notable departure from the chrome trim found on other newer BlackBerrys, but it seems to work for the device. The ‘bulging’ keys work with the trackpad and the lack of chrome trim to somehow make the 8250 seem less delicate and more rugged than other BlackBerrys.

Across the top of the device there are three media keys: Next, Previous, and Play/Pause/Mute. These work in conjunction with the music player to help you navigate through music, a welcome addition that clearly plays to the younger market. This version of the Curve also features an expandable microSD slot with a 1 GB card preloaded.

The last key-related item to note about the 8520 is that the four keys across the bottom of the screen: Talk, Options, Return, and End/Power have received a modest facelift, making them look a little hipper. The keys are all part of the same top level that the screen is, and don’t look as if they are individual keys though they act like it.

The back of the phone sports some of the same rubber band that surrounds the perimeter of the phone, with a black plastic piece across the bulk of the back. This plastic is curved a little bit, which beckons the user to spin the phone in a circle. Even after just a week of use, I’m already beginning to see the irreparable marks from all my spinning.

Screen and LED Indicator
RIM has been producing some convincing screens lately, but the 8520 doesn’t have one of them. Though it is an upgrade from the original Curve, it doesn’t hold a candle to competitors such as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, Tour, or Bold.

Though it functions fine, the screen doesn’t offer a crisp picture, high resolution, or adequate contrast that so many of its contemporaries offer. Physically the screen is about the same size as previous Curves, and is on par with that of the Tour.

One thing that’s annoyed me in the past about BlackBerrys is driving at night with Bluetooth enabled on my device. This is because I would get a blue LED indication flashing every few seconds bright enough to be a distraction. This type of problem is solved with the 8520 via a much smaller LED indicator. It is about the size of the tip of a pencil.

I suppose I should be careful for what I wish for, because the indicator does not seem nearly as bright as I’d like it. It could be that it is the same brightness in a smaller area, or it could be less bright overall — the point is that it isn’t adequate for spotting an unread message from across the room. This point might be moot however, because most smartphone users obsessively check their devices anyway.

Keyboard
The Curve 8250 maintains the keyboard found on the original Curve. If you thought you could escape the plastic spaced-out keys and trade up to a keyboard that’s easier to type on (such as the 8900 or the Tour), you’re out of luck friends.

PERFORMANCE

EDGE, Wi-Fi
For those of you hoping to hop on T-Mobile’s 3G network with this phone, prepare to be disappointed. The 8250 only sports EDGE and Wi-Fi, however it does support UMA calling via Wi-Fi (see below).

Updated OS
The Curve 8250 sports the BlackBerry OS 4.6.1.259 by default. The device is consistent throughout its hardware and software design, supporting its intentions to appeal to a younger market segment. This is most apparent by the red and white asterisks that litter the notifications section to inform the user about new messages or notifications. This is, of course, a nod to the iPhone which uses the same color scheme to indicate new notifications. These indications clutter up the home screen, especially the top status bar.

The OS also has by Facebook and MySpace built into it by default, and offers a slew of IM clients (AIM, GoogleTalk, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, and of course BlackBerry Messenger). Finally BlackBerry Maps is also loaded by default into the device.

Other than the cosmetic updates of the notifications, little else about the OS seems to depart from other BlackBerrys. In certain applications the phone seemed to hang a bit longer than I was comfortable with, which was surprising given the 512 MHz processor, which seems like it would be plenty.

Naturally, it comes with the basic suite of BlackBerry software, with such apps as a web browser, address book, calendar, and Push e-mail. Like recent RIM models, it also has audio and video software and an Office suite — DataViz Documents To Go.

UMA
One feature T-Mobile offers that I’ve always been a big fan of is UMA, which T-Mobile calls HotSpot@Home. This provides native VoIP service where Wi-Fi is available.

The biggest benefit of UMA is, of course, that if you are in an area that does not have good T-Mobile coverage (you can definitely find some of those around), you can jump on Wi-Fi and instantly have crystal clear conversations.

When I first tried this feature with the BlackBerry Pearl Flip, I had some problems switching between UMA and EDGE (when for example I walked out of Wi-Fi range). The switch has been more seamless with this device. A few times I noticed that call would start in UMA and end in EDGE without dropping.

Camera
This version of the Curve sports a 2 megapixel camera that shoots video like all BlackBerrys. There are several styling cues throughout the whole device that indicate it’s going after the same market share that might be interested in an iPhone and the camera is one of them. Unfortunately, in terms of the camera RIM has lowered their game to be on par with the iPhone. Though it takes decent pictures, there is no flash (found on almost every other BlackBerry camera), and the round iPhone-eqsue lens is more exposed and subject to dust than other BlackBerry devices.

I would have preferred this phone to have the same 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash that we’ve seen on other recent devices, but for what it is, the camera is surprisingly decent.

Even video comes out smooth and sharp looking on the device (surprising given my earlier complaints about the screen’s resolution).

CONCLUSION

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 has several elements that position it to a younger market segment — the rubber outlay around the phone, the updated call and end keys, and the music keys are all evidence of this. Though notable, these are not the stand-out features of the phone.

The optical trackpad is a big step forward for BlackBerrys. It is easier to use, and more importantly makes the device seem more sturdy and sleek than other models with the trackball. Even with its shortcomings in areas like the screen and lack of camera flash, the trackpad makes up for a lot of otherwise lost ground.

If you’re looking to upgrade to a T-Mobile BlackBerry, normally I’d say the BlackBerry Curve 8900, but with the advent of the trackpad on the 8520 I’d have to think twice.

Pros:

• New optical trackpad
• Redesigned side keys, top music keys
• Light, small form factor, uses same battery as previous generation Curves

Cons:

• No 3G support
• Screen not as advanced as it could be
• Keyboard hasn’t been improved from original Curve, is actually a step back from Curve 8900
• Plastic back cover is susceptible to marks

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