T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide Review

Introduction:

The first and second Android powered smartphones that were released in the US market were respectively the T-Mobile G1 and T-Mobile myTouch 3G – both handsets were products from smartphone maker HTC. Then, shortly after the myTouch 3G was introduced, more and more Android handsets started pouring in, eventually beginning the Android mania we're witnessing today.

Here comes the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide – a distant relative to the first Android phone ever. Packing a physical QWERTY to supplement the messaging experience, it's still one of the few handsets available to T-Mobile customers that run Android 2.1 right now. Moreover, it employs a slightly modified version of Sense, but will it be enough to entice customers in the midst of an already crowded market?

The package contains:
•    T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide
•    microUSB cable
•    Wall Charger
•    Stereo headset
•    Getting Started Guide

Design:

When you think of the many industrial designed smartphones that HTC has been able to meticulously craft over the years, the myTouch line of devices have been somewhat of a departure – and the myTouch 3G Slide follows suit. Employing an almost identical design style that's evident on the myTouch 3G, it essentially looks just like it except for the addition of a slide-out physical QWERTY. Corners are rounded that make it naturally comfortable to hold in the hand, plus it has a slight chin on the upper and lower portion of the touchscreen. The handset isn't afraid to flaunt its girth as it looks considerably bulky (0.60” thick) over some contemporary models like the Motorola DROID – plus it packs some serious weight (5.90 oz) despite its plastic construction. Ultimately its design definitely screams for a mid-range offering, but we're not confident that it could withstand a drop or two – even more so when it's one heavy device.



You can compare the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Traditionally, it's hard to find any fault with the myTouch 3G Slide's 3.4” TFT display which sports HVGA resolution (320 x 480) and support for 262k colors. For a mid-range Android offering, this is pretty much what's expected out of the device as its touchscreen is naturally responsive with colors looking more washed out than anything. Even though it's not the most detailed display out there, text is still recognizable from a good amount of distance, but you can tell it's just not as sharp as we'd like.  When using the phone outdoors, we were happy to see that its display is still viewable in conditions with the sun present – plus it had some good viewing angles as well.  

There's no arguing that there is less of an off beat chance that you'll accidentally press a physical button, but for some odd reason, the ones found below the touchscreen weren't as practical as what we would've liked for them to be. Not only are they flush to the surface, but they're somewhat cramped and don't offer the most responsive feedback. Even the well sized optical pad lacked a decent tactile feel and it's just rare for us to rely on it for navigating. Since most of the dedicated buttons are also found with other Android handsets, the one all the way to the right labeled “G” is strikingly different – it's actually the “Genius Button” which is essentially a type of voice command app. In addition, the dedicated power button, volume rocker, and two-level shutter key follow similarly as they lacked that solid tactile response when pressed. Some standard features like the 3.5mm headset jack and microUSB port are implemented with the handset. Furthermore, the 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash are found in the rear, while the speaker phone can be found close by. Finally, you'll have to pull off the back cover to gain  access to the battery, SIM card slot, and microSD card slot.




The four row QWERTY in use with the myTouch 3G Slide isn't the best we've seen out of HTC's camp as it pales in comparison to something like the one presented on the HTC Touch Pro2. When comparing it to the G1, we preferred the myTouch 3G Slide's snappy opening and closing mechanism. Somewhat on the smaller side, keys are raised from the surface, have an equal distance from one another to make them easy to distinguish with a finger, and also had a soft response when pressed. However, we didn't like how numbers are labeled on the buttons as they were similar in size to the letters which they share the same space on – it just made for some confusion when typing. Even in area where lighting is good, we had no issues making out the QWERTY with its bright back-lighting.

Interface:

HTC's Sense UI has branched out to a myriad of handsets, and the HTC myTouch 3G Slide is yet another device to utilize it, though with some additional personalization. Relying on a 600MHz ARM11 CPU, the experience of Android 2.1 on the handset is more than acceptable as it provides for some smooth movements when navigating – although there can be at times some evidence of slowdown when you begin to push the handset to run multiple apps. There is also a makeover done to the app drawer as icons are encased in squares and perfectly follow a grid like display. All in all, it's still Sense at its core and we find the experience satisfactory.

Instead of the usual 7 home screens offered by most Sense devices, the one in use with the myTouch 3G Slide presents you with only 5. Still manageable for just about anyone, especially when there are options for different sized widgets. Some of the available widgets come with compact versions that do not take up much screen space, but others like FriendStream require a whole page. By the way, this is an application that provides the latest Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr updates from your relevant accounts. Moreover, it allows for simultaneous Facebook and Twitter status updates.


Instead of finding Scenes, which allow you to save the look of your home screens with all of its widgets, the feature has been re-branded to myModes which basically accomplishes the same thing by allowing you to save or change themes instantly. For all of that, myModes even allows for you to save specific sounds for things like notifications and your ringtone – so there's a healthy amount of personalization to be found.



Messaging:

Obviously you'll probably want to rely on using the physical QWERTY for all your messaging needs, but if you happen to opt for the on-screen selection, you'll be treated to a decent variety. You can use the Swype keyboard that can be seen as a pretty fast way of inputting text, that is, if you're quite gifted in its unorthodox method. If that happens to not float your boat, you can always fall back to relying on the stock Android keyboard – which we did find to be quite responsive, but of course, its cramped confines might make you go back to using the physical QWERTY. Lastly, it offers Dragon Dictation which will translate any spoken words for you – we did find it to work well, but you'll need to enunciate well for it to recognize what you're saying properly.

You are allowed to set up several email accounts, but you will have to put up with the fact you cannot browse them at the same time, meaning only one can be active at a time. Like all other contemporary handsets, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide offers automated email set up if you are registered with a popular service provider. Still, all settings relating to specific servers, like our own, require manual entry (it seems only BlackBerry devices can automatically handle the task).



Internet and Connectivity:

There are few faults to be found with the web browsing experience on the  myTouch 3G Slide as it provides for some decent load times, responsive scrolling, and that true desktop-like feel with its support for Flash Lite. Zooming can be accomplished by either double tapping a specific area or by executing either the pinch in or out gestures. For something packing an HVGA display, text can be definitely hard to make out from a zoomed out view, but luckily Android will automatically re-size them at pretty much any zoom level until you find it pleasing. In the end, the web browsing on the handset is pretty much on par with other similar Android smartphones.


You'll always be just a phone call away with the myTouch 3G Slide seeing that it's a quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) device, but you're going to stay local if you plan on connecting via 3G speeds since it has dual-band (1700/2100 MHz) UMTS connectivity. Some of the alternate wireless options at your disposal include 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1.

Camera:

There's nothing really new about the camera interface as it's the standard one found on most of HTC's smartphones, but we did find the phone taking a good 4 seconds to launch after pressing the shutter key. As a whole, photos were more than acceptable as they boasted some good detail in outdoor areas with good lighting. However, colors tend to have a harder tone to them, but nonetheless look pleasing to the eye. The phone manages to produce some decent images indoors with sufficient lighting. Unfortunately, one would think that the flash would help out in poor lighting conditions, but it actually made them look too over-exposed.





Shooting videos is also a pleasant experience on the myTouch 3G Slide as it boasts VGA resolution (640x480) and a capture rate of 27fps. Audio from the recording sounded pretty accurate as there were barely any noticeable background noises that could be heard. It may not have the best details or smoothest looking recordings, but it's more than tolerable.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide sample video at 640x480 pixels resolution.

Multimedia:

Similar to other handsets that offer a decently sized displays, watching videos on the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide is more than satisfying with its smooth playback which wasn't muddied with any glitches. We were able to play a movie trailer coded in H.264 720x306 resolution so elegantly with its nice looking visuals and colors. Indeed there is no arguing that the handset is more than equipped in meeting the strict demands of consumers who rely heavily on their mobile phones to watch videos.


There's also nothing much to say about the HTC music player on the handset as it's exactly the same and presents a simple looking interface and provides for some on-screen functions like forward, reverse, and pause – plus it'll display the album cover of the song you're playing. When it came down to audio quality from its speaker, it did present us with a satisfactory volume, but naturally it did have some sharp tones when set to the loudest volume – and it lacked any serious power to make it sound vibrant and full bodied.



GPS & Software:

Google Maps is the sole location based app on the smartphone and will enable you to either find local points of interests or turn-by-turn voice guided directions to a specific address. However, a quick glance at the Android Market can provide you an alternative.

There are also a few third party productivity apps like Quickoffice and PDF viewer, which can obviously come in handy in situations when you're away from your computer and require to view a document. As we mentioned earlier, there is a button and an app called “Genius Button” which allow for certain tasks to be accomplished via voice commands – like placing a phone call, sending an email, searching the web, and finding a business. For example, saying “Where am I” will automatically launch Google Maps and pinpoint your exact location. Although it might come in handy for some people, it's more of an overlay to the usual Google Voice Search that's already deeply embedded with Android.

Performance:

There was some faint static noise which could be heard in the background on our end when conversing with someone – it's especially audible when there is dead silence. Thankfully though, our callers did say that we sounded natural and clear on their end. However, we did notice that voices sounded extremely muffled when using the speaker phone, but the volume was more than powerful to distinguish spoken words from a far distance.

When compared to other T-Mobile phones, we noticed that the myTouch 3G Slide had a tendency to slightly fluctuate in signal strength, but luckily it did not impact the overall connection to the network while we tested it in the greater Philadelphia region.

As we set the phone to automatic brightness and used the handset normally after a full charge, we managed to get out at least a good day before it required a recharge – but to tell you the truth, it definitely did not last as long as other Android handsets like the HTC Aria. By the time we were in bed, it was already at 10 percent, while the Aria was at a healthier 30 percent. The manufacturer has the myTouch 3G Slide rated for 7 hours of talk and 384 hours of standby time.

Conclusion: 

As a whole, we're somewhat bummed by the myTouch 3G Slide as it doesn't feel quite as compelling as other Android handsets packing a physical QWERTY. It's by far one of the bulkiest looking Android smartphones to date as it boasts a size that's almost similar to the G1 while packing on more weight than most handsets. Plus its design is rather uninspiring and the choice of materials doesn't leave one well assured about its durability over the course of two years. In the end, its price point of $179.99 already borderlines the high-end premium category, which is another reason to possibly look at other models such as the Motorola CLIQ for an inexpensive solution or look to the recently launched Samsung Vibrant with its superior performance and larger screen.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide Video Review: