Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Jul. 31, 2009

T-Mobile and HTC are now offering a newer and sleeker Android Smartphone that takes advantage of recent software updates. The new myTouch 3G has a $200 price tag that's actually $50 higher than its predecessor, the G1, and both are offered with a two-year contract.

The myTouch, which goes on sale Aug. 5, looks similar to the G1, but replaces the bulk of its predecessor's slide-out keyboard with a slimmer, lighter frame that sports a touch-screen keyboard very similar to the iPhone.

Its GUI is still dominated by a long screen, but it has a few more buttons below the screen, including one that offers a shortcut to Google's search engine. This was to be expected when the OS it works on comes from Google.

The new myTouch also features better battery life than the G1. It's rated for up to 7 hours of talk time, two more than the older phone, and it had no trouble lasting through a day of use that included talking, listening to music, surfing the Internet and checking and responding to emails.

One helpful new feature specific to the myTouch is the ability to check work e-mail through Microsoft Exchange. This could make the handset more attractive to business users who want round-the-clock access to both their personal and work e-mail accounts on the same device.

Taking photos on the G1 using the first iteration of Android was often sluggish and painful, as you never knew when the shutter would finally click. It's faster on the myTouch, though still slower than it should be.

Google's voice search is also popular, accessible by holding down myTouch's search button or by swiping the touch screen to the left to reveal a virtual button.

However, there are numerous issues with the Android software, the biggest of which concerns the touch-screen keyboard, a new feature in Android 1.5 that make some people wish the myTouch had a slim slide-out bottom keyboard like Palm's Pre. Google will no doubt have to rapidly address those issues.

Like most mobile handsets, myTouch can suggest words and correct common typing errors, but it isn't perfect.

One feature still absent and sorely missed is the standard headphone jack sported by the myTouch's main competitors. The phone is slim, but it's no slender supermodel, so it's hard to believe HTC couldn't have crammed in one. Let's hope the next version will have it.

The Android phone comes with a headphone adapter that also works as a microphone, along with a pair of earbuds. The G1 came with earbuds that fit its charging and audio port, but no adapter. With this, you could plug in your own ear cans and listen to tunes while still answering calls.

If you're a fan of wireless listening and talking, the newer Android software does support Stereo Bluetooth, so you can just use a Bluetooth headset if that's what you like.

Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

    This article was featured on Business 5.0 and on Tech Blog.

Source: Strategy Analytics.