While the first Android phone, T-Mobile G1 is a welcome entry to the smartphone market. And he may still be the must-have smartphone if it were not for a particular device from Apple. The reason is that while the Android platform itself much of the opportunity given its open nature, the G1 hardware is simply not large compared to something like the iPhone. But now T-Mobile is back with another attempt at an Android phone in the United States, which calls the myTouch 3G - and it's much better.
How do I know? Well, because I actually a business unit for a few weeks. You see, myTouch 3G, which will be available in early August for $ 199 with a 2 year contract is the same device as the ion Google phone, which was given to all those who attended the Google I / O conference a few weeks ago. And technically, the two are actually the HTC Magic, who released a few months ago in Europe and more recently in Canada. But for myTouch 3G, T-Mobile offers a different bells and whistles to distinguish.
The biggest thing is trumpeting T-Mobile for this device is a deep level of adaptation. Users will be able to access menus, wallpaper, icons and many other things to personalize the device with the use of themes and skins. This is a sharp break with a device like the iPhone, including a UN fully customizable look and feel.
And the device itself comes in three colors: black, white and what she calls the "typical" Merlot. (This makes me think of Paul Giammati in Sideways, "I do not drink merlot whore!"). But there will also be able to fully customize the phone shell too.
Another important point, T-Mobile is touting the myTouch something called Sherpa, which together with T-Mobile startup Geodelic to create. Basically, Sherpa is an application that claims to learn a user's actions. For example, if you are looking for excellent Thai food, Sherpa must recognize that as something you want in the future. And it uses your location information to provide tailored results for what they believe based on what you want around you.
Here spiel on the T-Mobile
At the heart of the T-Mobile myTouch, Sherpa ™ is an application with a high-engine itself learning automatically adjusts to your preferences. Created by Geodelic, the application learns your preferences and dislikes for the behavior and user feedback, prioritize recommended retailers, restaurants and attractions. Seamless mixing behavior recognition, a recommendation engine and locating relevant information, it is this combination of learning exclusively for Sherpa and experience unlike any currently on the market.
Equipment
But how real hardware myTouch stacking against the G1? Very good.
The first thing you will notice it is much smaller than the G1. All this by eliminating the physical keyboard. Because myTouch the Android 1.5 "Cupcake" software uses a virtual keyboard. While this will certainly hamper some users, from a design point of view, it was a very good initiative. It allows a device that not only smaller and lighter (it is about a gram and a half lighter), but it seems a lot nicer too.
And it became a little bump in the specifications. Although processor features the same, the myTouch has double the internal memory the G1 (now 512 MB), then load and run applications much smoother.
The screen size and resolution remain the same (3.2-inch TFT-LCD 320 x 480). And unfortunately, while the screen is not capacitive multi-touch that one of the main features of the iPhone and the new Palm Pre.
MyTouch also the same 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, the G1 had. And the device also comes pre-installed with a MicroSD card to 4GB, but the user can be upgraded in all formats.
But the most striking difference is that if the lifetime of the battery. From my experience, the G1 was very poor battery life. The myTouch offers a considerable improvement in this regard. How? Well just in daily use with applications running in the background the battery in my G1 would have disappeared within hours. The battery is easily myTouch all day in the same area.
The iPhone
Although this device the G1 in all respects, the assets, the more people interested to compare myTouch is probably how it stacks up against the iPhone. By eliminating the physical keyboard, the units are closer now.
Before coming to that, I would say that the main factor for which you will probably enjoy more when you a bigger fan of the more open Android platform, or the most tightly controlled approach Apple takes the iPhone OS.
In terms of hardware, there is no doubt in my mind that the iPhone is much prettier. HTC managed many solid improvements on the G1, but when the two hand in hand, he still feels plastic myTouch and therefore inexpensive, compared to the iPhone.
If the original iPhone or iPhone 3G, you will enjoy the 3.2 megapixel camera and can shoot video with myTouch, but the iPhone 3G comes out of S corresponds to these two functions now.
In terms of speed, it is somewhat difficult to compare the two, because the different platforms to run applications. The myTouch as G1, has a 528 MHz processor, a faster processor than the original iPhone and iPhone 3G had. But again, the new iPhone 3G combines speed and S grows even beyond, in terms of raw power.
I only played with the iPhone 3G S for a few days, but I think it is fair to say that daily use applications and surf the web, the new iPhone blows along the myTouch in terms of speed. But again, it seems significantly faster myTouch in many respects than the original iPhone and iPhone 3G.
This does not mean that myTouch has no advantages over the iPhone. It has enormous: it can run third party applications in the background. Apple has already played a bit with the idea, but the Android phones have done since day one. And as I mentioned above, if the battery in the G1 seriously affected the performance, MyPhone much more efficient, even with applications running in the background.
Price
But in a move that still does not talk much of it, Apple may have dropped a bomb on devices like the 3G myphone not the iPhone 3G as much as S $ 99 with the iPhone 3G. At $ 199, is the point myTouch same price as the entry level S iPhone 3G, but I see many new smartphone buyers choose iPhone over $ 100 cheaper.
Pre-orders for myTouch will be effective for T-Mobile customers on July 8. The unit will be $ 199 with a 2 year contract, and general availability scheduled for early August.
