"We have had success with the G1 and the Samsung Behold HSPA touch-capable device," said Neville Ray, senior vice president of engineering and operations at T-Mobile USA. In announcing fourth-quarter results last Thursday, the carrier said nearly 40% of devices sold in the period were smartphones.
Despite the fanfare surrounding the G1's debut, T-Mobile added fewer customers during the fourth quarter than the prior quarter or year-earlier period--621,000 compared to 670,000 and 951,000. The G1 won praise when released for its user-friendly Android operating system, but users have since complained of problems with battery life.--Mark Walsh