T-Mobile G2x, All That and More

I waited quite a while to make the jump to a new smart phone. Over the years whenever I set my sights on an upgrade I was always dissuaded with the promise of a new and better phone arriving within months. Sure, I carried a Blackberry for work, but we all know they are getting their heads handed to them in the smartphone space. Doing anything other than sending email or texts with a Blackberry is like watching paint dry and takes much longer. Finally my patience was rewarded when all the stars aligned and the convergence known as the T-Mobile G2x hit the market. Why this phone? Why now? Being a T-Mobile customer I wanted to stay with that carrier. Like all carriers they have their detractors but over the years I’ve been pretty satisfied. I have always leaned toward the Android platform, so when I saw the G2x coming to market I was immediately intrigued. The phone promised all I was looking for, a nice form factor, a dual core processor, 4G speed, upgradeable memory, a vanilla version of Android, front and rear facing cameras, HD video, and a gorgeous display. So with all that, I made the jump and have not regretted the purchase for one second. I’ve probably utilized this phone more in the last few weeks than I have used any phone I’ve ever owned. The thing about this phone is that you really want to use it. Nothing about it is cumbersome.  It starts with the display and user interface. The display pops and without the clutter of a carrier’s ported version of the user interface it’s very easy to navigate. You get a clean crisp plain vanilla Android interface. The way Google intended. If you use Google services I can’t think of a better phone. Start it up, type in your Google credentials and almost before you know it the phone is populated with your Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, and your online photo galleries from Picasa. There are a variety of ways to input text, classic touch screen keyboard, swipe, and the method I love the most, voice. The speech recognition is the best I’ve ever experienced. It rarely misses what I say and when it does it’s usually the result of loud background noise. This phone is fast… noticeably fast. Web pages load so much faster than on other phones I have used. The combination of the dual core processor, 4G speed, and an outstanding browser all work together for one awesome browsing experience. Then there are the apps, so many apps. Mobile applications are those things that you sort of think “So what. Big deal”... until you dive in to them. In the short time that I have owned this phone I have discovered a myriad of uses, creating text documents, using GPS to get to unfamiliar locations, updating all my social network feeds, instant messaging, emailing, making an HD recording of a friend’s wedding, taking some really cool pictures with the 8 mega pixel camera, using a QR Code reader app to get reviews on products while in the store, creating my on QR Codes for work and to use as a person contact card, finding nearby restaurants and stores, taking voice notes, listening to my music stored on Amazon Cloud, moving files to and from Dropbox, timing my laundry, and becoming addicted to Angry Birds. Before my purchase I read some complaints about battery life. I find myself charging once every day or day and a half. So for me, the battery life is fine.  All in all my G2x experience has been one of the best I’ve had with any electronic device I’ve own or operated. It was definitely worth the wait.