It was almost two years ago when T-Mobile quietly unveiled the first Android phone in the U.S., the G1. The design of the device was a bit cumbersome, and Android 1.0 was buggy, to say the least. However, the G1 was one of the first handsets that supported T-Mobile's burgeoning 3G network and introduced Google's new OS. After weeks of speculation, T-Mobile officially announced the G1's follow-up, aptly called the G2, this morning.

As you may know, the G2 is the first device designed specifically for T-Mobile's "4G-like" HSPA+ network. There has been much debate about the accuracy of T-Mobile's 4G label, because HSPA+ is more akin to 3.5G, rather than true 4G technology like Verizon's LTE and Sprint's WiMax. 

“T-Mobile ignited the spark that set the Android world ablaze two years ago with the launch of the world’s first Android-powered mobile phone, the T-Mobile G1, which remains an important milestone for both T-Mobile and the Android operating system,” said T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Cole Brodman in a press release. “Now, with the launch of the T-Mobile G2, we are re-teaming with our partners at Google and HTC to provide T-Mobile customers with another first — the first Android smartphone designed to deliver 4G speeds on our new network.”

The G2 will sport Android 2.2 out of the box and is "tightly integrated with Google" services like Google Voice, Google Goggles, and Voice Actions. It will not run Sense UI, or any other proprietary skin for that matter, so Android updates should come to the device quickly.

The G2 features a 3.7" AMOLED screen, sliding QWERTY keyboard, 5MP camera with flash, 720p video, 4GB of internal memory with an 8GB micro-SD card pre-installed (support for up to 32GB), and "Dedicated Quick Keys for one-touch access to your favorite Google shortcuts and applications."

As we pointed out last week, a major drawback to the G2 is its 800 MHz MSM7x30 processor, which doesn't have a chance against the more powerful Samsung 1 GHz Hummingbird, or even the 1 GHz Snapdragon that powers the EVO 4G.

T-Mobile has not announced a specific release date, but has launched an official page for the device, which promises: "Current T-Mobile customers will get exclusive access to pre-order the G2 starting later this month.

So there you have it. As usual, the nation's fourth-largest carrier is seemingly playing catch-up with the competition. The HSPA+ capability of the G2 is nice if you are in one of the 55 major metropolitan areas that carries it. But the device is hard-pressed to hold its own against other full-QWERTY Android devices like Sprint's Epic 4G, or the Droid 2 from Verizon.