T-Mobile G2: New Android phone rumoured

By Steven Musil on 23 December 2008, 10:05am

On the heels of Google revealing enhancements to its Android mobile platform, rumours are circulating that we may soon be seeing a new Android device.

The T-Mobile G2, as the device will reportedly be called, will debut on 26 January, according to 'rumours' reported by Cell Phone Signal. The sequel to the flawed-but-promising G1 is expected to have a 5-megapixel autofocus camera, a VGA camera for video calls, a full touchscreen and Wi-Fi connectivity, according to the blog.

Boy Genius Report has a follow-up rumour that says those specs are pretty accurate, but that the release date will actually be in April. Boy Genius' tipster said the G2 wouldn't have a physical Qwerty keyboard, but there would still be a trackball at the bottom of the device.

The new device is also expected to be non-exclusive to T-Mobile and sold elsewhere around the world, according to Boy Genius.

This week, some of the changes made to the mobile operating system by a private group of developers came to light in Cupcake -- the Android code the group shares with the outside world. Now, according to the Android road map, the Cupcake enhancements have started to be merged into the wider, open-source Android project.

Some of the changes coming to Android are bug fixes, affecting elements such as email, conversation-list scrolling and the alarm clock. Several new features are, however, also being added -- for example, the ability to save MMS attachments. The Linux kernel upon which Android runs has been upgraded to version 2.6.27, and "basic x86 support" has been added.