T-Mobile Prepping First HSPA+ Android Phone From HTCT-Mobile Prepping First HSPA+ Android Phone From HTC

T-Mobile published a teaser Web site in July suggesting that its first HSPA+ smartphone is coming soon. "Soon" might mean September. With T-Mobile's HSPA+ network footprint slowly expanding, September would be the perfect time to launch such a device.

HSPA+ is the super-fast 3.5G wireless broadband technology that T-Mobile is adding to markets across the country. In my tests of T-Mobile's HSPA+ performance (with laptop dongles), download speeds averaged 6.48Mbps and upload speeds averaged 2.16Mbps. That's right in-line with what Sprint's 4G WiMax network offers.

Knowing that laptop users aren't the only ones who want the fastest broadband possible, HTC and T-Mobile look to be finalizing the G2 for its debut next month. The G2 will succeed the G1, which was the very first Android phone. The G2 will be the very first Android and HSPA+ phone. Seems fitting.

According to information that came from a regional T-Mobile internal sales meeting, the G2 has a Qualcomm chipset on board, though the clock speed hasn't been locked down yet. The chip in question can range from 800MHz ro 1GHz. The device will run a stock Android 2.2 Froyo build, forgoing the Sense user interface overlay that HTC has favored for its Android phones.

T-Mobile hasn't confirmed when the device will launch, nor any details beyond the fact that the first HSPA+ handset will be a "smartphone."

Wondering where HSPA+ is these days? The total number of people now served by T-Mobile's HSPA+ network stands at 85 million, and T-Mobile says it is on track to cover 185 million people by the end of 2010.

[Via AndroidAndMe]