T-Mobile announces second Google phone
June 25, 2009 by Eric
Filed under CELL & MOBILE ACCESSORIES, CELL & MOBILE Information, CELL & MOBILE PHONES
Competition in the smartphone market is heating up this summer as one new hot smartphone after another hits the street. The latest is T-Mobile’s next Google Android device, called the myTouch.
T-Mobile myTouch
(Credit: T-Mobile )
T-Mobile will announce the new smartphone Monday. It is the second smartphone the carrier has introduced that uses Google’s open-source mobile operating system, Android. T-Mobile introduced the world’s first Google Android phone, called the G1, last fall. And so far the company claims it has sold over 1 million devices.
The myTouch is manufactured by HTC and is essentially the same hardware design as the Google Ion, which is also known as the HTC Magic. The device was introduced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February and is now being sold by Vodafone in various markets around the world.
The Google Ion/HTC Magic has been described as thinner than the G1 and slightly smaller than Apple’s iPhone. But it features a large 3.2-inch touch screen with a resolution of 320 x480 pixels and no physical keyboard. The phone offers network support for 3G and Wi-Fi.
Kent German, an editor for CNET Reviews, characterized the Google Ion/HTC Magic as having a “sleek, attractive design with a gorgeous display, tactile controls, and an easy-to-use interface. ” German said that the phone was the Android device he had been waiting for.
CNET’s German hasn’t yet reviewed the new myTouch, which will come in new colors and have enhanced software capabilities specially designed for T-Mobile.
The myTouch comes with 512 Megabytes of internal memory and supports microSD for external storage. The device will ship with a 4GB microSD card, but customers can add more storage if they’d like.
Even though T-Mobile’s first Android phone hasn’t even been out a year, T-Mobile is calling the myTouch its premier Android smartphone, said Andrew Sherrard, vice president at T-Mobile. The carrier will announce a few more Android devices later this year, but it will be focusing much of its marketing efforts promoting the myTouch. And while Sherrard said the G1 isn’t going away anytime soon, he believes the myTouch will have an even better chance to pick up new customers who are looking for an easy to use smartphone.
