T-Mobile's current lineup can only be described as strong, ranging from last year's trio of cheap, yet well-performing, phones to this year's hot smartphones. In the middle you'll find Samsung's TouchWIZ phones, which more or less provide a decent overall experience. Last year's Android flagship, the T-Mobile G1, is also rumored to be replaced later this year. There's also the possibility of T-Mobile picking up the recently announced Nokia N900, though its support for T-Mobile's 3G network could make it an unlocked hit anyway. If our round-up of the most significant 2009 releases on T-Mobile isn't sufficient for you, we suggest checking out our search engine to add the 2008 releases to the mix.
When the HTC Touch Pro2 hit the scene, it instantly became the best business smartphone on T-Mobile's lineup, and one of the best business smartphones you can buy. For the hefty starting price, it better be (for our analysis of the real cost of owning a smartphone, click here). But the HTC Touch Pro2 on T-Mobile proves its worth with solid hardware, including our favorite QWERTY keyboard and advanced features all around. The phone excels at calling in ways that business users will certainly appreciate. It will help you make great-sounding calls, with easy conference calling and a best-in-class speakerphone. Even better, it will help organize the information you need to access quickly during that important call. It's not a fun phone, though it is packed with multimedia and fun features. But it lacks the customization options of a Google Android phone like the T-Mobile myTouch 3G, the social network synergy of the Palm Pre or the multimedia prowess of the Apple iPhone 3GS. Still, it trumps those devices with superlative call management as well as better scheduling and productivity features, and it's still easy going enough to play music and videos or casually surf the Web. In other words, the HTC Touch Pro2 takes the best of Window Mobile and hides the rest behind a snazzy and responsive interface that keeps things professional.
T-Mobile's big Android launch will draw mixed emotions. If you've been waiting for an Android phone whose outer design is as cool as the user interface, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G is certainly a more polished and appealing looking phone than its predecessor, the T-Mobile G1. However, cool looks don't necessarily mean improvement, and if the exterior could use some tweaking, the onscreen keyboard needs a real overhaul. Ultimately, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G might let down multimedia fans with its poor media software and lack of necessary hardware, like a headphone jack or camera shutter button. Messaging fans will certainly lament the lack of a hardware keyboard. Though Android is still a smart competitor to other touchscreen operating systems, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G lacks the wealth of apps and advanced capabilities of the Apple iPhone 3GS, and it isn't quite as intelligent or business savvy as the Palm Pre's WebOS. Digging through the Google Market will reveal some hidden treasures that go a long way to improve the interface and basic features on the phone, but we wish some of these apps were simply bundled on the device, and a few features, like corporate contacts sync or video playback, still have no first-class options for the Android platform. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G is a stylish sign of things to come, but we're already waiting for what's next.
The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the easiest BlackBerry device to recommend, and its perhaps one of the best smartphones on the market. The device has all the best BlackBerry features, including the spiffy new OS and pixel-packed screen, loads of e-mail support and great calling features, and some niceties thrown in by T-Mobile, including UMA for cheap Wi-Fi calls and extra IM clients onboard. The device has GPS and Wi-Fi, and it easily beats the older BlackBerry Curve, which was a hugely popular smartphone. We wish that RIM would cut down on the long lists and settings menus in favor of an all-around graphical interface, but once you get used to the lists its easy to see just how powerful and extensible a BlackBerry can be. The Curve 8900 comes out a little pricey at $200 on T-Mobile, but its still a solid BlackBerry, and sure to be just as popular as the first BlackBerry Curve.
The T-Mobile Dash 3G is the best looking device to come out of the HTC Snap family, perhaps because it remains closest to the original. But while we liked the look and feel of this device, when it came time to get to work, we had trouble with the trackball and the unusual button and keyboard layout. We liked the snappy interface, with an improved look from T-Mobile, and Microsoft's newest mobile Web browser on board, equipped with Flash Lite support. Plus, for business users, there's hardly a better tool for scheduling and productivity options. The T-Mobile Dash 3G also comes with a great software package, especially for messaging fans and GPS navigators. Still, the phone comes up short in multimedia capabilities, and other T-Mobile smartphones with Wi-Fi also get HotSpot @Home calling, a convenient option for cheap calls, especially in dead zones. T-Mobile hasn't seen a Windows Mobile phone this compelling in a long while, and the T-Mobile Dash 3G is definitely a slim smartphone that's worth a look. But we don't see it knocking the BlackBerry Curve off its pedestal any time soon.
Somebody forgot to tell the BlackBerry Curve 8520 that it's supposed to be a budget BlackBerry device. Sure, the phone lacks some of the high-end features of other BlackBerry phones, like a high-res screen or GPS navigation, but the Curve 8520 does right all of the things that we expect from a BlackBerry. For e-mail and messaging, it's just as fast and well organized as any other BlackBerry phone. We even like the design. Though it's supposed to be low-end, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 packs some new additions we've never seen on a BlackBerry, like a responsive optical trackpad button and real multimedia playback controls. The keyboard is solid and we rarely noticed a dip in performance compared to more advanced BlackBerry phones. Plus, on T-Mobile's network, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is capable of cut-rate calling with it's UMA Hotspot @Home calls over your Wi-Fi network. In the end, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is an easy phone to recommend, especially since Amazon is offering the phone at launch for only a penny, with a contract.
The Samsung Memoir is a problematic phone, mainly because of how it stacks up to its competition. It is undoubtedly the best cameraphone on the market, not just because it has the most densely packed sensor, but also because it took great pics under the best lighting conditions. But there were serious problems in the images, and poor low-light performance means we wouldn't recommend this phone over a simple point-and-shoot. Though it boasts the highest pixel count, this phone isn't much improved over the Samsung Behold, which costs about $100 less. So, you're paying $100 for 3-megapixels and bragging rights. While we liked the calling features and the great calling interface, we still had trouble with the phone's touchscreen, and we found the TouchWiz interface to be more cosmetic than useful. It's great to see that cameras on phones are being taken more seriously, but we think that Samsung, and other phone manufacturers, can produce a better high-megapixel phone than this one.
Sidekick fans looking for an upgrade will find plenty to like in the T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 (to check out our comparison of the most recent Sidekick phones, click here). Besides the dazzling new display, the phone benefits from faster networking and an improved Web browser, as well as GPS capabilities, and an improved version of Microsoft's Live Search. Otherwise, the device is mostly unchanged. It still looks nice, but even with all of the improvements, the Sidekick LX 2009 leaves out some features, like turn-by-turn navigation. If you're willing to invest in a data plan, the T-Mobile G1 might be a more compelling choice, as it packs most of the same specs, but can do more thanks to the open OS. For Sidekick fans however, the Sidekick 2009 represents a significant step forward.
The Samsung Highlight is an interesting alternative to the Samsung Behold, and we think it will have more appeal for a younger audience looking for a cool phone without the advanced camera features and chunky design of the former phone. We like the slim, Icy blue shell, and we even had a good time with the responsive, vibrant touchscreen, even though the TouchWiz interface got messy when we started dragging out too many widgets. The phone isn't great at any one feature, but it is pretty good at almost all of them, with a friendly, capable music player and a Web browser that was better than most basic feature phones. The key for this phone will be if T-Mobile can offer it for a bargain basement price, which isn't the case at launch, so we're hoping the price will drop rapidly into the $50 range. It needs to be affordable for teens and even tweens, who will definitely be the target audience for this cool looking, though underpowered, little tablet phone.
With the Samsung Gravity 2, T-Mobile is finally filling in some of the gaps in their lineup, specifically low cost phones that work with their blossoming 3G network and appeal to their text-heavy fan base. It isn't a great phone, but it's up to speed with most modern feature phones, and you get everything from e-mail and IM to a reasonable Web browser, a media player for music, a basic camera and even GPS for turn-by-turn navigation from TeleNav. We weren't fans of the interface, a counterintuitive design we've seen before. We also had trouble getting the e-mail client to keep up with our current conversations, though IM and text messaging worked with no trouble. In the end, we liked the wide, roomy keyboard on the Samsung Gravity 2, and we liked the snazzy colors. Those might be the most important features for the Gravity crowd.
The Samsung Comeback should be called the Samsung Comeback In 10 Minutes. The phone was sluggish in almost every way, from simply opening messages to browsing the Web, belying its 3G Internet connection. It was also confusing to use, thanks to the maze-like interface with its redundant choices and counterintuitive feature placements. Where's the GPS navigator? Oh right, under "Organizer," with the voice dialing app. Some aspects frustrated us, and some were downright lousy, like the nearly useless external display and the strange, tic-tac keys on the full-QWERTY keyboard. The Samsung Comeback would have been a decent messaging phone a year ago, but can't match the competitors' current offerings in the budget segment. If T-Mobile is your preferred carrier and price doesn't matter, the Sidekick LX 2009 offers a more compelling messaging experience.
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