Skip to main content

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Review

T-Mobile myTouch 3G
“It's a step up from the G1, but for non-T-Mobile customers there are superior touch-screen smartphone choices...”
Pros
  • Android operating system; beautiful 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen; expandable memory; physical control buttons; lightweight
Cons
  • No 3.5mm headphone jack; no built-in memory; slow 3G Web connectivity; minimal T-Mobile 3G coverage

Summary

Warning: This review is not as in-depth as we would like, so we will be updating it when we can. We got a chance to fiddle with the second-ever U.S. Android phone, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G made by HTC, for around 45 minutes at an introductory event yesterday. The myTouch became available for pre-order to current T-Mobile subscribers Wednesday, and will be available to all August 5 for at $199.99 (with a two-year service contract). Our initial quick-take verdict? This sleek, lightweight touchscreen smartphone offers several improvements to its predecessor, the G1. But one major similarity to the G1 and a third Android phone due later this year may keep many potential T-Mobile customers from touching myTouch.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Features and Design

Recommended Videos

How does the myTouch compare to the iPhone and the Pre?” Not well, at least in terms of value.

The MyTouch 3G, like the G1, has minimal on-board memory, but it comes with a 4GB microSD card installed. For the same $200, the Pre gives you 8GB inside, the iPhone 16GB, and a bigger screen. True, neither of these competitors has a memory expansion slot, but a 16GB card will run you an extra $50 or more. Once 32 GB cards become widely available, the myTouch may actually enjoy a longer life than the Pre or iPhone.

But there’s a problem with T-Mobile’s 3G network. You’ll need a magnifying glass to find the dark teal splotches that represent 3G network availability on the T-Mobile coverage map.

Still, Google’s Android operating system works in the phone’s favor. It’s arguably the best mobile OS. Like Palm OS, Android can multitask, and, unlike the iPhone, Android lets you create home page folders so you can intelligently group apps.

The phone’s beautiful 3.2-inch HVGA screen is also a plus. Pictures and especially text look crisply rendered, almost as if they were finely printed on glossy stock paper.

Otherwise, the myTouch compares favorably feature-wise with its two main rivals: a 3.2 MP camera, Wi-Fi, full HTML Web browser, music player, stereo Bluetooth, A-GPS, POP3/IMAP/Microsoft Exchange email, IM, and voice dialing.

The myTouch also comes with several programs pre-installed. Along with several Google apps, there’s the clever Sherpa, a location-based app that automatically locates all local businesses and services in your immediate GPS area, grouping them in the usual GPS navigation categories. It’s one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” ideas that’s sure to be a big hit, especially if it becomes available on other devices.


T-Mobile myTouch 3G Form Factor

Physically, the myTouch fits between the Pre and the larger iPhone, and weighs 0.7 ounces less than both. The weight savings are achieved by eliminating the physical slide-out keyboard. The myTouch is made from smooth pebble plastic, with a perimeter is unmarred by slots and control keys. You’ll find only a volume toggle on myTouch’s left side, and a USB jack at the bottom – and therein lies myTouch’s Achilles heel.


Ports & Connectors

There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack. You have to use the included USB-to-3.5mm adapter to listen with anything but the myTouch’s own USB-terminated earbuds.

This omission is nearly unforgiveable, given the criticism the G1 received for the same blunder. HTC acknowledged (at least to us) that not including a 3.5mm jack on the G1 was a mistake, that would be remedied on its next Android device, and that nearly all 3G touchscreen smartphones include a 3.5mm headphone jack. We were told aesthetic priorities trumped this enormously functional consideration. For us, that’s a devil’s bargain and, combined with T-Mobile’s penurious 3G network, a deal breaker.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Sound Quality

The echoy room in which we fiddled with the myTouch was filled with other noisy media types conducting their own demos, making it impossible to judge the quality of the sound. We did get enough volume, even in that raucous environment, to discern what was being said to us from the other end of the call, however.


Phone Functionality

T-Mobile’s myTouch has the usual Android array of physical controls on the front under the screen: the send/end keys along with home, menu and back keys, and a nipple track ball. While these keep the myTouch from attaining the MOMA-like minimalism of the iPhone or Pre, their utility thankfully outweighed the form factor considerations.

You get both a widescreen and portrait keyboard for all text-input programs, such as IM and email. Like the iPhone, there is no haptic feedback. We found typing quite easy, although the keyboard didn’t seem as touch sensitive as the iPhone’s. We often had to go back and insert spaces and carriage returns that the phone failed to register on our initial touches. Otherwise, we made few mistakes, as our fingers flew increasingly furiously over the touch keys.


Web

Web surfing was S-L-O-W! But access may have been hampered by the number of 3G users in the room. The mobile CNN.com site took seven to eihht seconds to load, compared to around 5 seconds on the iPhone and Pre. ESPN’s mobile page took around 10 seconds to load, and the full New York Times page took nearly 30 seconds – 10 seconds more than on the iPhone.


T-Mobile myTouch 3G Camera

We took some photos at the event, but the demo phone was tethered, so we were unable to give the camera a fair testing. Judge camera quality for yourself from the shots we could take. Oddly, the viewfinder showed a fuzzier image than what was actually captured.


Battery Life

T-Mobile rates the myTouch at 600 hours (25 days) in standby, and 6 hours of talk time.


Conclusion

The myTouch isn’t a bad phone, it’s just puzzling, especially considering that the third HTC Android phone, the Hero, is due in the U.S. a little later this year. (Although HTC has declined to say which GSM carrier will be selling it.) With a 5-megapixel camera, Adobe Flash compatability, a gravity sensor, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, the Hero is a clearly superior phone. On paper, it’s even superior to the iPhone – and probably the phone the myTouch could or should have been. For T-Mobile customers, it’s definitely a step up from the awkward G1, but for non-T-Mobile customers, both the iPhone and the Pre, with their wider 3G availability, more on-board memory, and 3.5mm headphone jacks, are superior touch-screen smartphone choices.

Pros:

  • Android operating system
  • Beautiful 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen
  • Expandable memory
  • Physical control buttons
  • Lightweight


Cons
:

  • No 3.5mm headphone jack
  • No built-in memory
  • Slow 3G Web connectivity
  • Minimal T-Mobile 3G coverage
Stewart Wolpin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Here’s another big reason why T-Mobile 5G dominates AT&T and Verizon
T-Mobile smartphone.

T-Mobile continues to command a massive lead in offering the best 5G experience among U.S. carriers. A few weeks ago, a report from Ookla revealed that T-Mobile is leaving its rivals in the dust; now Opensignal has confirmed that not only is the Un-carrier’s lead increasing in raw speeds, but it’s leading the way in taking 5G into the mainstream.

According to Opensignal’s latest 5G Experience Report, T-Mobile not only offers the fastest 5G experience in the U.S. by a sizeable margin but on average, customers on T-Mobile spend nearly 50% of their time on the carrier’s 5G network.
Reaching for the best 5G coverage

Read more
T-Mobile is leaving AT&T and Verizon in the 5G dust
The T-Mobile logo on a smartphone.

Ookla has just published its latest market report revealing where U.S. mobile carriers and smartphone manufacturers stand in terms of providing the best 5G and 4G/LTE services.

Not surprisingly, T-Mobile remained in the top spot during the fourth quarter of 2022, eclipsing its rivals when it comes to median download speeds. What may be more surprising is that T-Mobile has increased its lead, clocking in at 151.37Mbps overall and 216.56Mbps for 5G, breaking the 200Mbps barrier for median 5G speeds across all bands for the first time.

Read more
It’s late 2022, and Verizon and AT&T still can’t beat T-Mobile’s 5G network
The T-Mobile logo on a smartphone.

It’s been 10 months since Verizon and AT&T flipped the switch on their new C-band 5G spectrum, but it appears both carriers still have their work cut out for them if they want to catch up to T-Mobile.

Market analyses and independent tests have agreed for years that T-Mobile is the fastest and most reliable 5G carrier in the U.S. That’s not surprising as it had a massive advantage by holding licenses for the crucial midrange spectrum that provides the best balance between range and speed. While Verizon’s early high-frequency mmWave rollouts allowed it to boast raw speeds that were significantly faster, those were confined to about 1% of its subscriber base.

Read more