T-Mobile myTouch 3G Review

Just a little bit over half a year since we've seen the Android powered T-Mobile G1, US consumers are getting their second tasting of Google goodness in the T-Mobile myTouch 3G. It would have been totally identical to the HTC Magic, if it wasn’t for the Google branding on the back cover. The slimmer form-factor is a welcomed sight over the G1; although users who are used to a physical QWERTY keyboard will need to master the virtual ones. Other than the stark cosmetic differences, the Android 1.5 Cupcake update is found right out of the box.

Let's first start off by saying how much more pocketable this is than the T-Mobile G1 – you'll notice it more in the thickness.  The plastic material it uses has that just polished feel to it, but doesn't have that superior material quality that HTC is known to manufacture in its other devices. Even meticulously looking at the screen, you'll notice that it has that plastic feel as opposed to a more durable material like glass. Although the materials they used for the myTouch 3G may not be as appealing, at least the construction feels solid all around.

Powering on the device will light up the 3.2” capacitive LCD screen – it will definitely light up a room when placed on the brightest setting. Even dimming down the screen, the viewing angle enables you to see it at almost any position without losing visibility. The physical buttons on the front are decently sized with the trackball placed right in the middle. The 3.2-megapixel camera and speakerphone are found on the back – no flash with this one. You need to remove the back cover to gain access to the microSD slot, but at least it isn't in a more inconvenient location like underneath the battery.

As we stated before, Cupcake is already loaded when you first power on the device. It's no surprise that mastering the virtual QWERTY keyboard will be one of the few challenges some may need to overcome. The portrait one is a bit cramped, so we prefer using the more spaced out landscape variant. As far as navigating through the phone, it was relatively quick and smooth. Rotating the screen is accompanied with a slight delay and an animated transition effect – it blends in nicely as it begins to blur the screen. The only time we had an issue with the performance was when typing up a message with the QWERTY – it didn't have that responsiveness while trying to predict what we were typing.



The T-Mobile G1 has been the only Android powered device offered to US consumers since the fall. To tell you the truth, the myTouch 3G is the perfect device for those who didn't like the hefty form-factor of the G1 and prefer a virtual QWERTY. Other than that, it remains faithful to what we've already seen with the HTC Magic. It may not make quite a splash, but we're sure this will garner some attention from Android lovers.