T-Mobile G2 Pre-Order Is A Go For Tomorrow, Release October 6th!
We'll just make this a super quick post but the T-Mobile G2 with Google will be available for pre-order starting tonight and running through October 4th with a release date on October 6th. I can't say how happy I am …
Context & Ripple Effects
The G2 has been a running story for nearly two years: back in December 2008, Boy Genius Report flagged early G2 information as rumor, and the hardware only came into focus last month when Engadget's clearer photos replaced the usual blurrycam shots. T-Mobile made the device official on September 9, promising a launch later that month.
Today's news closes the loop with concrete dates: pre-orders open tonight and run through October 4, with the October 6 release landing a few days later than the 'later this month' window implied at the official announcement.
First-order effects
- Buyers who want the G2 with Google on day one have a defined two-week pre-order window starting tonight, rather than gambling on October 6 stock at retail.
- For T-Mobile, the pre-order run doubles as a demand gauge before launch, letting it size October 6 inventory per store instead of guessing.
Second-order effects
- A dated pre-order window forces the comparison set onto launch-day terms: rival handsets competing for the same holiday-quarter upgrade dollars now face a locked-in October 6 ship date they must answer with their own availability commitments.
- Google benefits directly from each unit shipped under the 'with Google' banner, extending Android's carrier distribution at no handset-manufacturing cost to itself.
Third-order effects
- The two-year arc here — 2008 rumor, mid-2010 leaks, formal September 2010 announcement, staged pre-order — is becoming the standard lifecycle for carrier-branded flagship phones, with leaks functioning as de facto marketing rather than a problem to be stamped out.
The trend: Carrier-flagship launches are converging on a leak-announce-preorder-release cadence, with pre-order windows replacing day-one retail lines as the launch metric.