It’s been nine months since I first dabbled in the world of Android. It wasn’t a pretty picture then, but a lot has changed in those short nine months. The platform has grown and become more stable. The Market is filled with useful and enjoyable apps. Cupcake has had the biggest impact thus far but we eagerly await what Donut has to offer.
Changes to the OS have been well publicized and covered at length, but we’ve been stuck with one piece of hardware, the G1. Despite its many inadequacies, it’s managed to carry the platform until now. Enter the myTouch 3G with Google from T-Mobile. It’s a rapid departure from what we’ve grown accustomed to with the G1. It lacks a physical keyboard, but has a boost in RAM ROM and one key software enhancement that many have been longing for. It also falls in line with the rest of HTC’s gorgeous hardware lineup. Many will have to wait until August 5 to pick up the latest Android device, but we’ve had one for a little over 48 hours and we can’t put it down.
Let’s start with the operating system. Just like the G1, the myTouch runs a flavor of Cupcake (1.5), COC10, that doesn’t seem to differ from the CRC1 build that was pushed out over the weekend for the G1. HTC really rained on T-Mobile’s parade by introducing the Sense UI on the Hero because it makes the generic Android UI even uglier, but it’s much snappier than the Hero’s Sense UI.
Despite its lack of a physical QWERTY keyboard, the myTouch’s virtual QWERTY works just fine. Those with bear claws will need to resort to using the landscape keyboard because the 3.2-inch screen leaves very little room to comfortably type on the portrait keyboard. This happens to be the one area where I’m tempted to make a direct comparison to the iPhone. The 0.3-inch advantage makes a huge difference.
Enabling haptic feedback makes the experience marginally better but it’s still difficult to walk down the street and compose emails or text messages one handed in portrait mode. You’re forced to constantly look down and make sure you’re tapping out what you want.
The one software advantage the myTouch has over the G1 is Exchange support. G1 owners will not be receiving this update so keep this in mind if your company doesn’t issue BlackBerrys or Windows Mobile devices.
Battery life seems to be marginally better than the G1, but only by a hair. Alas, all 3G devices packed with Wi-Fi, GPS and a decent browser will suffer from horrendous battery life. The myTouch 3G is no different.
And for whatever reason, I still have issues with the GPS on HTC’s Android devices. Maybe it’s the area of Manhattan I live in, but I can never get a GPS lock when I’m indoors. Comparatively, the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Curve 8900 have no trouble whatsoever in the same location. When I’m out and about, however, the myTouch locks on quickly. You might wonder why I care about getting a GPS lock indoors and you’re not alone. Doug thinks I’m crazy, but when you enter a building on 3rd Avenue, for example, that doesn’t mean you’ll be facing 3rd Avenue. It’s weird, I know, but I like to know where I am in the building. But the GPS works just fine the way it’s meant to work. I’m just being nitpicky.
Jumping from the G1 to the myTouch can be a little awkward for the first few hours. The button layout is obviously different since the myTouch sports seven physical buttons to the G1’s six. The buttons are tiny, but they’re spaced out accordingly so you won’t be hitting the wrong button. The trackball is much bigger and has a soft coating finish that makes it feel silky smooth.
HTC’s hardware has a come a long way — the myTouch is a sexy little device. It feels good in the hand with a polished plastic case. The chin isn’t as pronounced as it is on the G1 or Hero. Additionally, HTC rounded off the top of the device in an almost chin-like manner, making the bottom seem smaller as a result.
HTC isn’t known for producing great camera phones. You know it. Hell, they know it. I’ve heard them talk about it. So it should come as no surprise that the myTouch’s 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera is so-so. Without a physical camera button, you’ll want to make a shortcut on your home screen for the camera. Picture quality is decent enough to send to friends via MMS or upload to Facebook. Same deal with video.
Overall performance (when it comes to apps) on the myTouch is the same as it is on the G1. However, the myTouch fires up in about 52 seconds with the G1 following up around the one minute mark. Certain apps open quicker on the myTouch than the G1, but it goes both ways. There’s roughly 280MB of onboard storage and that’s nearly not enough if you’re downloading tons of apps. Unfortunately, the myTouch doesn’t play well with 16GB microSD cards. In fact, it completely chorks on them.
Conclusion
So, with all of that being said, should current G1 owners upgrade to the myTouch 3G? If you don’t mind a cramped virtual keyboard (portrait only, landscope is fine) and you’re in dire need of Exchange support, then go for it. If I was new to the whole T-Mobile/Android scene, I’d go with the myTouch. It’s smaller, sexier, and way better looking than the G1. You’ll miss the QWERTY keyboard at first, but you’ll adapt. It’s not as bad as you’d expect.
The T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google will be available on August 5 for $200 at T-Mobile, Best Buy, Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club.
If there’s something we missed that you would like to know about then please leave a comment and we’ll do our best to check it out for you.
Note: As we promised we would when we declared our dislike for non-3.5mm headset jacks back in May, we must point out that the myTouch uses the HTC extUSB port for audio. To use your own headphones, you’ll need an adaptor, and that just plain sucks. However – HTC has since told us that they’ll be going with 3.5mm jacks on as many future handsets as possible, so we’ll cut them some slack.
Update: It appears the myTouch doesn’t take kindly to rough petting of the trackball. When quickly scrolling through emails via trackball the myTouch likes to open up random emails and bring up “Labels”. What’s up with that?
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I like the review!
You are right about the G1 not getting the Exchange mail client pushed but you can still install it. since you don’t need a push or market to install an app. you can just go to a website and get it. Many G1 users that want Exchange have installed the Mail.apk You can grab it here:
http://tinyurl.com/ko85jt
Whoa. I think putting random words in bold makes everything better.
agree! i LOVE making the BOLD words pop.
I’m a big Android fan and having looked closely at this phone I decided to just wait for HTC Hero.
No major feature upgrades, and lack of a regular headphone jack (which Hero has) were the deal breakers. Basically its G1 without the physical keyboard… if you REALLY want an Android phone now – it’s cool to get it. But if you can wait till later this year – DEFINITELY wait for Hero.
The Hero is sluggish and that’s me being nice about it. HTC has said that they’re aware of the issues and that they’re working on it, but as it stands, the Hero has a long way to go. The myTouch is much faster.
i totally agree, i mean think about it, hero is gona run alot more sophisticated softwares to fulfill ur needs and do alot more others to make it delectible. however, guess what, ITS PROCESSOR is same as g1 and mytouch, so dont u think big time lag is gona surface big time? it will i kid u not! i cant believe hero didnt up the processor speed myself, such a blow! so i’d go for mytouch! its the true successor of the original android phone!
Is it still limited to T-Mobile 3G like the G1.
I assume that is a hardware issue with the G1 that once unlocked and blessed with a AT&T sim, it only gets Edge. Could they have changed that with the MyTouch?
Nope, sorry man. AT&T and T-Mobile use entirely different frequencies for 3G.
Hmmm… I’m on T-Mo already and I’m 99% sure they won’t be getting the Hero. The Hero’s Sense GUI lags from what I’ve read in several reviews. Do I finally take the plunge and put physical keyboards behind me?
T-Mo’s actually supposed to have 1 or 2 more Android devices before the end of the year. I might just wait to see what those are.
P.S. HTC, please put a flash on all your phones that have cameras.
T-Mobile isn’t getting the Hero. They’ve stated it over and over again. HTC has also said that it’s not coming to the US or T-Mobile. My guess is that T-Mo will carry a low-end Android device. And they’re well aware of their camera woes. They’re working to fix that before a flash is going to be implemented.
This phone is great, but still no iPhone.
Oh, you’ve used the myTouch?
Peter, that was good for a laugh. Much appreciated. You should cut her some slack though because she is correct. It is not an iPhone. It is also not a Giraffe.
True. But I’m sick and tired of everyone saying “it’s not the iPhone so it must suck” bit every two seconds.
Yes it’s not an iphone. I can run several applications at the same time. I like being able to stream music with imeem while I browse a web page then check the latest tweet or email when they show up in the notification bar.
I’ve had an HTC Magic (as the mytouch is called down here in Aus) for over a month and it is far and away my favorite phone ever.
Thank god its not no iphone, the iphone is awful.
Its sleek design definitely makes it a must have waste my money on it gadget.
Regarding the GPS, keep in mind the iPhone integrated Skyhook Wireless which uses cell tower triangulation and wifi reverse IP lookup in addition to GPS which doesn’t work inside or within canyons of tall buildings.
The first generation iPhones have location awareness even without GPS.
Does anyone know if Android and or HTC uses Skyhook?
I don’t know about the myTouch, but the G1 does. (I own one, so I ought to know…)
I know for one Batman did on TDK.
Will the hero work on 3g? Some one said that it download 3g and upload 2g could this be true?
No. The European Hero will not run on AT&T or T-Mobile’s 3G networks. The baseband is completely different.
Thanks Peter,so i guess its probably a bad idea to buy the hero for the U. S.
It’d be pretty pointless to have it running on EDGE. I’d wait until a domestic carrier decides to bring the Hero to the US.
The minute you said the battery life is similar to the G1, I sighed. I had the G1 for 9 days, used all the battery savings apps and tricks, and found it totally atrocious. Until it matches an iPhone (which is a pretty low bar, imho), I am a hater, because I love cupcake and the Google integration, but HATE the dysfunctional battery life. Holding out hope for Samsung and other handsets in a few months.
You can get a full days use out of it without a problem.
With my G1 I’m able to get a full day no problem, including general surfing and talking time as well.
What I did though is get a simple USB cable charger for my work laptop and home computer. The cable costs $2 at newegg, so it’s not like you can complain about that.
I can understand how if you’re camping for a week why this would be a problem, but if it’s in standby mode with nothing running, it’ll last quite a long time.
does the mytouch support flash?
No it doesn’t.
It will in October, as will the G1, and the Hero (which already “supports” Flash, except it actually doesn’t). Blackberries will too.
that is a nice looking phone
be-bi iphone
Is the performance of myTocuh really as slow as the G1. I used a friends G1 and it seemed a little slow at times. I was hoping the extra memory in the myTouch would make a difference. Has anyone run any benchmarks of start time of apps? All that being said, I think I am going to get two of these bad boys when they are available. One for me and one for the wife. We both have really old phones and its time we got more google integration in our phones.
As I stated in my review, the myTouch boots up roughly 8 seconds before the G1. Overall, the myTouch is quicker than the G1.
There is no additional memory in the MyTouch 3G over the G1. They both have 192mb RAM.
The HTC branded Magic’s, also known as “32A board” have 288mb and the MSM7200A CPU which is capable of 30fps VGA.
The MyTouch, Vodafone and Google Ion versions are all based on the “32B board” which have 192mb RAM along with the same Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz CPU as the G1.
Bloops. You’re right the RAM is the same, but the ROM is not. The myTouch has 512MB to the G1’s 192MB.
T Mobile US always opts for the cheapest handsets but there customer service and plans are the best. That’s why I always buy unlocked phones and use it on T Mobile. There Android phones have functionality but lack quality hardware. I’m using a Nokia N95 on edge network and soon upgrading to either N97 or 5800. Edge works just fine for keeping my email and calender in sync, otherwise I’m ususally within wifi range. Symbian 5th edition is a great option too apart from iphone and G.
Same here. I’ve had an N73 for the last two years, and while 3G would be nice, I love everything else about the hardware that apps, google interface, nor touchscreen would entice me to get a myTouch. Or to get any phone T-Moblie provides that has 3G IMHO.
I’m waiting for the Nokia E52 myself, just wish it would support T-Mobile’s 3G network.
love the review. The more I look at these pics, the more I want this phone. I think it’s one of the best phones HTC has ever released. I just don’t understand why they have to be released on t-mobile. The service is so bad, it’s not even funny. I wish HTC would wise up and go to some of the better services, like AT&T or Verizon. I’d love to see it on Verizon or AT&T: http://ziggytek.com/
The GPS problems are due to interference. Tall buildings will block GPS signals and in general you need open skies to receive them. Also you need to be moving in order for the GPS to know your orientation as it uses previous data to figure out your direction. The iPhone uses a magnetometer to figure out this- and as far as I know, the myTouch doesn’t have one.
I’ve been using the Rogers HTC Magic (as it’s known in Canada and most of the world) for the past few weeks, and absolutely love it. By the way, the Rogers Magic uses the same 3G frequencies as AT&T.
Overall, this is a tremendous phone. Those of you waiting for the Hero because of the lovely Sense UI can always head over to xda-developers and grab a copy of the ROM. For me the Hero ROM is far too sluggish and beyond the social network integration offers little benefit over the various Android ROMs floating out there.
I sold my 3GS within a few days of having this phone. It may not have the same visual flair as the Apple, but finally being able to run multiple applications and having a persistent notification area made it an easy sell for me. The lack of any kind of application-persistent notification on the iPhone is a staggering oversight in my opinion and not something I ever see mentioned in any reviews. I love being able to run Twidroid and be notified (without being interrupted by an obnoxious blue popup box) of new tweets while I’m reading my email, or receive text messages, or check on downloads, or whatever it may be.
Thank you for posting your comments. I have the iPhone 3G and really really love the idea of Android, and have the G1. I experimented this weekend with actually transferring music from iTunes to the G1 via DoubleTwist. Well, after playing with the phone via WiFi (not enabled on T-mobile) I’m pretty sure I’m going to go get the black MyTouch 3G on Wednesday. I’ve been looking for current/former iPhone users and their thoughts.
@Peter – I’ve already pre-ordered a MyTouch and was just about to buy a 16GB microSD card. Can you comment any more on what problems you ran into with the card?
I’m getting a new batch of 16GB microSD cards to test out and I’ll report back soon, Fubeca.
Thanks Peter, you truly are a full-service blogger! :-)
Not sure I understand, Peter. Yours is the only review on the ‘Net to claim that the MyTouch is INCOMPATIBLE with 16gb MicroSDHC. What is the basis for your claim, and why would it change with a “new batch” of cards?
I thought I’d chime in with an update. I ordered a Class 2 16GB microSDHC card from Buy.com which arrived today. I copied all the files over from the stock 4GB card and plopped the new card into the phone. I watched a few seconds of video and am listening to The Bamboos as I write this and have had no trouble at all. So far everything has worked flawlessly.
I was a little upset that there would be no way for G1 owners to cheaply upgrade at first, but now I feel better. I was most interested in a performance increase, but if it’s that minor, I’ll be okay.
Except for that red color. I want that.
Peter,
I’m new to the T-Mo/Adroid and considering the MyTouch vs G1. You recommend newcomers to go with the MyTouch but is it really worth the extra $100? Thanks for the review.
You need to ask yourself two things: do you need a full QWERTY keyboard and does Exchange Support matter to you? There’s something about the G1 that’s comforting, but the myTouch is small, a smidge peppier and has marginally better battery life. The screen, however, is tad too small to efficiently knock out messages in portrait mode. It boils down to hardware since the OS is the same on both, DM.
Peter, Does mytouch use Microsoft outlook for calendar and contact info. Thanks
I believe it will not sync out of the box with Outlook. It does do Exchange email, but not contacts nor calendar OTA. I have a BlackBerry with work, so I get that piece already.
I ended up getting the MyTouch last Sunday. I’m loving it. Thanks Peter for helping me make my decision. Your review was the best.
Is there a way for this phone to dock to your home stereo or an aux. so that you can listen to your music in the car? Also, can you download your itunes to it?
i’m about to get a full discount for extending my contract. the only thing keeping me from getting the mytouch is the price. anybody have an idea how much i can get the g1 or mytouch when i extend? btw i’m eligible to up grade aug 2 2009.
You should be able to dload certain itunes songs to it… so long as when they were dloaded, they were DRM free songs (songs that will not only play on ipods, but other music players as well). I have a mytouch and I can honestly say I’m pleased and happy with it. battery life is definitely longer (can go a day without charging up again). And the touchpad really isn’t bad by any means once you get used to it (you do have to pay attention while you text, the mytouch predictive text is really on point).
and also, if you notice about other reviews… they only point out faults that are minimal at best. true that an actual headphone jack could have been utilized. But if they are saying that it makes the phone not quite up to date…then you have two options:included with the mytouch is an add on that you use to hook up standard headphones to the phone, or if you REALLY want to be up to date.. BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES! (Trust, it’s nice not to have a wire dangling in front of you, hence..wireless). And you can’t pinch and zoom with your fingers (really? is that really something to complain about?) so what? it’s not like the option to zoom in/out isn’t there….you just have to touch the phone in + or – on the screen. The fact that you can do multiple things (unlike the iphone) with said phone at a nice and fast pace (at least it’s not blackberry with their 2g only phones they only give to tmo), plus an android market that you can do damn near anything with for your own benefit, plus a cell phone maker that made this possible in the first place (god bless HTC, Google for making it happen, and tmobile for giving them their first chance) makes the mytouch a great phone to have. people need to quit their useless complaining. btw, hero fanatics….. going by other reviews…. did it ever occur to people that maybe, just maybe, tmo didn’t want the hero because they probably knew it was sluggish compared to the magic…and they wanted a new product quick to compete? just maybe?
I don’t think T-Mobile doesn’t want the Hero because they think it’s sluggish. I think they just wanted to bide their time with the MyTouch, and prepare to perhaps accept a future GSM Hero. I’m looking at and considering the Hero on Sprint this fall; CDMA and world-capable will be key.
well, here’s my question. what’s the real difference between google OS vs Sense UI? They are both android OS. with that being said… they are both open source. and the hardware on the hero is the same as the magic/mytouch. so what’s the real difference?
Well, it would have to be CDMA to be able to run on sprints (or verizon’s) network in the first place. So that’s not a real added bonus, but more like a necessity. But that’s rolling out on the next android update regardless, hero as well as other future android phones on either sprint or verizon networks. and the mytouch as well as g1 are also world phones as well
You have very poor instructions. My CallersTunes App has not shown itself yet. How do you set up a greeting? How do you adjust volume? My Touch phone is not doing well. What do I do?
I recently sold my HTC Touch Pro2 and bought an HTC Magic. I love it. And seriously, fuck WinMo.
I had a G1 originally, gave it to a loved one because they broke their phone and went to a bberry…. now I’m back on android with mytouch (magic). I’m ridiculously happy with this phone!
Thanks for the great review. I’m really considering getting rid of my HTC Diamond for Android. Window’s mobile crashes still and looking for an open source.
you will not regret getting an android phone. be it G1, mytouch (magic), or hero. the possibilities on various ways for the phones to be customizable are damn near endless
So, the idea proposed by this review that a 16gb MicroSD card won’t work in a myTouch has been completely debunked now (they’re even selling it via Sandisk with the phone at T-Mobile.com), so this review should definitely be revised to prevent further confusion.
And the fact that the G1 has exchange support via the mail.apk. Should revise the article.