Here it is! The T-Mobile G2, with a “controversial” sub-1GHz clock speed (800MHz to be exact), albeit with newer technology, so it’s actually faster. A 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording, Android 2.2 vanilla with a boatload of Google apps, and HSPA+(4G?) speeds achievable on T-Mobile network. Let’s take a quick stride through the full specs and software, then run straight through the review and on to the always-difficult conclusion section.

How Pretty And Simple You Are, G2

This may be the nerdiest QWERTY slider on the market. Metal coupled with high-quality HTC plastics and rubber are all over the G2, including a plastic slider the pops off the metal battery cover, making for the easiest battery remove in the world. An optical trackpad for more selective text entry, a 3.7-inch WVGA (800x480) resolution TFT LCD, sliding QWERTY keyboard in Z-style configuration for easy sliding (but with durability concerns), the 800MHz Qualcomm processor, and a 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording.

And gracefully, no touches to the Android UI that blur the feel and make it senseless.

Whew. Enough half-puns.

Also, the g2 is loaded to the brim with almost every Google app available on the Android Market, all of which are non-removable. Now you don’t complain when Apple bundles iTunes with the iPhone 4, do you? Well, Google bundles its apps too, on a Google phone with Google’s own software. That’s the fact, live with it.

There’s A Never-Ending Performance Run Here

It’s always ticking. Android 2.2 has long allowed the user to switch between 8 apps by holding down the home button (which in the G2′s case, are all touch sensitive, and never miss a mark) and due to the clearance of a basic interface without additives, the 800MHz makes strolling between all of them pretty simple, and more importantly, fast.

I could go on and on here, conversing, comparing, and running through the many occasions that the G2′s speed never failed, even with live wallpapers activated, but I won’t. Have you heard of the iPhone 4? It’ll stay as stable as that. No need to give excuses.

And despite running 24/7 with tons of power, the G2 has lasted a full day (although in earlier testing it was but half a day; I realized the Wi-Fi was always on).

Using The Camera, And The Keyboard

Whipping out your smartphone for taking a quick shot is harder depending on the hardware. Some devices have dedicated camera buttons, some don’t. Some can wake up from sleep to take a photo, and all others don’t (hello, WP7!). The G2 has a camera button, and it’s handy. A trip to the park to meet up with some Muscovy Ducks gave me a first-hand look of the 720p HD video mode available on the G2.

And now for some 5MP stills.

T-Mobile G2 Sample Shots

The G2 has a full QWERTY layout, and 3 QuickKeys. HTC’s QuickKeys are fancy-talk for “programmable buttons”, which can be assigned to opening apps, contacts, bookmarks, and just about anything else. I’ve assigned the quick keys on this G2 review unit to take be to the browser, Tweetdeck, and Gmail. It raises a point that they give you a sense of security. Let’s say, in the subway (not that you’d get an HSPA+ signal methinks, but whatever), where you could tap a button and get the glorious Google Maps app to open, if you weren’t into using the Voice Actions that come built-into all Android 2.2 devices.

Now when you actually use the keyboard, it’s a different story than being happy using QuickKeys all the time. There is no dedicated number row (not that it matters, you have two Alt buttons to trigger them), but the strange position of the first few letters (QWERTY) make it a bit hard to use at first. As per every new laptop, tablet, or phone, you have to accustom yourself to the keyboard, be it virtual or real. Speaking of virtual keyboards, the G2 uses Swype, and that’s plenty of fun. No complaints there.

It Has 4G! Wait, No, It Has HSPA+! Wait It Has…

Faster than normal 3G speeds, that’s all. No matter how you spin it, when carriers advertise “4G”, every geek and nerd on Earth is horribly offended (and I can tell you personally, I was). Guess what? Most people are not nerds, and don’t give a fudge whether or not it’s 100G or 3G. A long as it’s faster, and it is. While in Brickell Miami it’s been harder than expected to get an HSPA+ connection all the time, but getting 5MBps down and 3MBps up isn’t so bad. There’s a solid discussion about the marketing of 4G to be made, but being faster is always fact. And so, fake 4G is always faster than 3G, even though it may not be up to the nerdy standards of many men and women (and your’s truly) around the meat-o-sphere (I mean world).

Final Verdict

All that is missing from the G2 is a front-facing camera, considering all HSPA+ offerings for T-Mobile at the moment have one. It is the best Android slider available on the market as of publishing (pick up your stuff and leave, Epic 4G) and the worthy successor of the original Android phone, the G1. Heck, it’s one of the best Android phones, period.