After a few weeks of people debating and waiting with bated breath, it appears that the issue is settled on whether or not the T-Mobile G2x is a quad-band phone capable of supporting AT&T 3G. The issue at hand was that T-Mobile's website specifically listed the G2x as supporting the frequency bands (850/1900) that would enable it to work on most North American carriers' 3G networks, i.e. AT&T in the U.S. This would mean that users could unlock the phone and use it on AT&T (rare network interoperability in the U.S.), and that the phone would be "future proofed" for the day when T-Mobile is absorbed into AT&T and the T-Mobile 3G bands are repurposed. Immediately after the phone went on sale, however, users reported that unlocked devices with AT&T SIMs were not connecting to AT&T and that the phone may not be quad-band after all. Diligent investigation by Engadget Mobile's new senior editor Myriam Joire has now revealed that the phone does not support AT&T 3G in the following statement from T-Mobile:
The T-Mobile G2x fact sheet, attached [PDF link], contains accurate information. The T-Mobile website is incorrect and we're working to correct it. The G2x supports 850/900/1800/1900 MHz for 2G/GPRS only, and supports 3G/4G UMTS/HSPA+ bands I and IV. The G2x does not support AT&T's 3G bands. This banding is hardware based.
This comes as a disappointing resolution for many consumers who were excited about the G2x. What's interesting is to ask is why is this disappointing? Why was everyone excited about this solid but relatively ordinary Android phone? Outside of a non-offensive, understated design, this phone has/had only a few distinguishing features:
- It runs stock Android 2.2 Froyo
- It has a particularly good camera at 8 MP and 1080p video capture that actually works
- It is one of the first phones in the U.S. with a dual-core Tegra 2 chipset
- It would operate fully on both T-Mobile and AT&T (now disproven)
A great camera and dual-core performance are both compelling features, but they are hardly unique or earth-shattering. The first and last reasons, however, highlight two sad realities of the Android landscape and wireless options, respectively:
1. Stock Android is still rare and considered valuable.
As we noted in our anticipation of the Nexus S last year, very few phones actually hit the market running stock Android. Instead, almost all Android phones are loaded down with OEM and carrier skins, user experiences, and other software. The reason the Nexus line exists, in fact, is so Google can insure that they have at least one handset running unadulterated Android on the market. Today, no phone on Verizon runs stock Android. Until the Nexus S 4G hits Sprint, they have only a few low-end phones that run a modified version of stock, designed to push their Sprint ID service. AT&T does not officially support any stock Android handset, while T-Mobile supports the Nexus S and now the G2x.
These oft-maligned Android skins are clearly not the preferred choice of consumers, enthusiasts, and hackers. As a result, the very idea of a stock handset is still rare and valued by consumers who don't care for the hardware of Samsung's Nexus S. Even the fact that the G2x runs Froyo, a version behind the current Gingerbread, is not enough to diminish excitement over this phone. That says a lot about the value of these Android skins.
2. U.S. phones remain completely locked to carriers for the time being.
The very idea that consumers can take a phone from one carrier and use it on another is completely foreign to the U.S. Unlike in Europe, where almost all of the carriers operate the same technologies and frequencies, the U.S. carrier lineup is fragmented. Verizon runs CDMA and LTE, Sprint runs CDMA and WiMax, AT&T runs GSM on a few frequencies and T-Mobile runs GSM on separate frequencies. The difference in frequencies is the reason that the iPhone does not work on T-Mobile 3G. Furthermore, while Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, the carriers maintain tight control over phone usage on their networks, making it nearly unheard of to use a phone from one carrier on another. This is the very issue that Nilay Patel and Chris Ziegler explored in yesterday's online debate over the AT&T/T-Mobile merger.
As long as this situation continues, consumers will experience pressure from carriers on the hardware that they own. It's the exact opposite of true competition. The excitement over the G2x is an example of a rare bit of independence for the person knowledgable enough to use a phone on their carrier of choice.
Sadly, none of this will come to fruition, as the G2x turns out to be functionally locked to T-Mobile, failing to provide that choice or a stock Android experience on AT&T.