T-Mobile and Google show off the second Android device to hit the U.S. market. Check out our hands-on look at the T-Mobile myTouch 3G.
Review summary of the T-Mobile myTouch 3G:
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 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. Release: August 2009. Price: $100.
Pros: Slick design improves upon the square T-Mobile G1. Great Android OS and interface design. Top-notch Web browser. Loads of messaging options, including Exchange for e-mail.
Cons: Lacks calendar and contacts sync options beyond Google (not even Exchange). Hardware design is prettier, but not more usable than G1. Onscreen keyboard needs improvement.
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Full T-Mobile myTouch 3G Review:
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Today T-Mobile rolled out the new T-Mobile myTouch 3G at a launch event in New York City, and we got a chance to play with the latest Android device. We were surprised at how light and sleek the T-Mobile myTouch 3G felt in our hands, and HTC's trademark Android "chin" had even been whittled down to a mere "lip" that met the bottom of the unit. Aside from some minor updates to the Google Android OS, T-Mobile stressed that they were very concerned with style options, and the T-Mobile myTouch 3G was displayed in Black, White and Metallic Red with various customizable back plates. We especially liked the textured golf-themed back and can only hope that T-Mobile will be dabbling with other textures.
We were pleased to see the large trackball this time around, but its surrounding buttons were rather slight for our adult fingers. The good news is that the buttons and trackball were highly responsive. The touchscreen itself did not have the rapid response of the iPhone, but we can safely say that it's the next best thing and even seemed a little bit more responsive than the keyboard-equipped T-Mobile G1, the carrier's (and the country's) only other Android device. The graphics seemed very sharp and navigating the homescreen and the phone's interface was fast and easy. Our rep told us that the battery life of the T-Mobile myTouch 3G was improved by 50% from the T-Mobile G1, which was very good news.
Among the new apps that will come pre-loaded on the T-Mobile myTouch 3G, Sherpa got the most attention at the launch event, and we got a hands-on demonstration of how the new establishment/event hunter actually worked. Sherpa is a location-based app that helps you find your favorite stores and businesses and suggests new ones that you might like. What Pandora does for music, Sherpa does for locations and businesses. The app actually lets you give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to a particular location or store. So, if we felt like boycotting Starbucks, all we had to do was give it a thumbs-down and Sherpa would not make an attempt to track down any of the stores. We could scroll horizontally along the top of the screen to find a particular category we were interested, whether food, banks, shopping, etc. Sherpa would list all of the corresponding establishments within the immediate area and it offered us a map with pinpoints to obtain directions.
In addition to Sherpa, T-Mobile and Google were also showcasing a large assortment of useful apps and widgets that will be available with the T-Mobile myTouch 3G. For the newest Android phone, T-Mobile is going to take a stronger role in selecting and recommending new apps to help cut through the clutter of the Android Market. For instance, the CNN widget allowed us to peruse the latest headlines, incorporating a headline alert feature that popped up with the latest buzz. We could also filter news by a particular topic, for instance, Michael Jackson, and all of the news pertaining to him would surface in a list format with corresponding thumbnails. Finding movies and theaters was a snap, thanks to the T-Mobile myTouch's movie widget, which rounded up all of the closest theaters and categorized information by release date, movie rating, etc. Sports Tap rounded up all of the professional leagues and tossed them into one program that allowed us to stay on the up and up with the latest news.
The most significant new feature on the T-Mobile myTouch 3G wasn't flashy or even very new, but support for Microsoft's Exchange service will make this a much more compelling device to business users. With Google's blessing, HTC has integrated Exchange support deep in the Google Android OS, while still keeping the "with Google" branding that declares this phone will work with all the apps available in the Google App Market. With the T-Mobile myTouch 3G, business users will have integrated access to their e-mail, calendar and contacts from the phone's own built-in apps, without relying on shaky third-party add-ons.
T-Mobile was highlighting active lifestyle uses for the T-Mobile myTouch 3G. The carrier was touting the device's use as a pocket personal trainer, with apps for routing trails and monitoring your every step. For active users, T-Mobile was showing off a T-Mobile myTouch 3G with a Cardio Trainer to monitor heart rate, a pedometer and even a monitor for bicyclists.
All in all, we were very impressed with the T-Mobile myTouch 3G, but there were a few things that irked us. HTC is still excluding a 3.5mm stereo jack, which is ironic because we think most of the active users they're targeting with this phone would enjoy using their own earbuds. We also found the landscape keyboard to be a little finicky to use, and less responsive than we would have liked. Still, we the T-Mobile myTouch 3G performed very well in our hands-on tests. It was also nice to see a fresh round of Google Android apps make an appearance, as the Google App Market has been anemic of late, perhaps due to the dearth of available Google Android phones.
Price and release date
T-Mobile is taking pre-orders for the T-Mobile myTouch 3G right now, and phones should start shipping in the first week of August. The myTouch 3G is being offered first to existing T-Mobile customers. Buyers will have to pay $200 for the privilege of buying this phone.
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