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The HTC myTouch 3G officially became available on the T-Mobile network Aug. 5. The smartphone – T-Mobile’s answer to AT&T’s exclusive hold on the Apple iPhone and Sprint’s claim to the Palm Pre – features the Google Android operating system.
It’s the second smartphone on the T-Mobile network to feature the Android OS, which continues to grow in popularity and attract developer interest. The first was the G1, also made by HTC, and which T-Mobile has sold more than 1 million of since the device’s October debut.
The myTouch 3G offers a 3.2-inch HVGA touch-screen and – like the iPhone, but unlike the G1 – relies on an on-screen qwerty keyboard instead of a physical slide-out one.
Click here for slideshow images and a closer look.
The myTouch measures 4.5 by 2.2 by 0.5 inches, has a 3.2-megapixel camera with options for sharing images with a single click, a 4GB microSD card slot, a trackball for additional navigation help and features integrated tools for Google Search, Google Map and Gmail.
A full spec sheet is strangely difficult to come by, with T-Mobile instead emphasizing all the ways users can personalize the device, both with apps on the inside and decorative “shells” around the exterior.
To emphasize all this individuality, in fact, T-Mobile hired 100 skydivers, “each dressed as unique personalities to reflect the individuality of the myTouch experience,” said the carrier in a statement, which will parachute over San Francisco at noon Pacific time on Aug. 5.
“myTouch 3G can be personalized to wholly reflect your individuality, pride and passion, making it -100 percent you,'” said T-Mobile’s Denny Marie Post in a statement.
“We’ll help this [idea] come to life from the get-go at our retail stores, where unique sample personas will be displayed to illustrate some of the many customization options.”
The myTouch 3G is available at T-Mobile retail stores, and eventually also Radio Shack locations, in white, black and merlot for $199 with a two-year service contract.
In other news, should you want to protect your customized myTouch 3G shell, a company called BodyGuardz also announced Aug. 5 that it added the myTouch to the list of devices for which it offers transparent protective films.
According to BodyGuardz, the films contain an antibacterial mold inhibitor and an anti-corrosion compound. According to a statement from the company, the films are made from the “same indestructible film typically used to shield the fronts of automobiles from abrasive elements and environmental impact.”