T-Mobile to Announce myTouch Android Smartphone

T-Mobile is expected to officially introduce the myTouch 3G on June 22. Starting July 8, T-Mobile customers will be able to reserve the new smartphone, which runs the Google Android mobile operating system and will sell for $199 with a two-year contract.
The myTouch 3G, made by HTC, will be T-Mobile’s second Android-based phone. It released the HTC G1 last fall, and has reportedly sold more than a million handsets – a figure it hopes to beat with the myTouch, Cole Broadman, T-Mobile’s chief technology and innovation officer, told Business Week.
The myTouch 3G will be slimmer than the G1, with looks more similar to the Apple iPhone. In a summer smartphone lineup crowded with strong options – including the Apple iPhone 3G S, the Palm Pre, the Nokia N97 and the BlackBerry Tour – T-Mobile says its plan for distinguishing the myTouch is through personalization.
While the myTouch 3G is the same phone offered by Vodafone as the HTC Magic, T-Mobile reportedly has made a few hardware and software enhancements to the myTouch. Additionally, 40 accessories will be available for the device, and during purchase, T-Mobile representatives will show buyers how to customize their phones.
“Everything about myTouch 3G puts you first. An application that knows you better the more you use it. Themes and skins let you show off your style. You can even customize menus, wallpapers and icons to create an experience that is truly your own,” T-Mobile enthuses on its Website.
The “learning” application is Sherpa, one of more than 5,000 applications now in the Android Marketplace. Using GPS, it remembers where users have been and what they’ve searched for, and so can suggest local shops and points of interest.
Applications are a big part of how T-Mobile is hoping each myTouch will be unique – and appealing. The carrier is encouraging users to add widgets to the home screen, arrange their favorite applications and set up alerts or notifications to make the device as unique and personalized as possible.
The myTouch will feature a 3.1-inch touch-screen with an on-screen keyboard that can be used in portrait or landscape mode, a 3.2-megapixel camera that enables users to share images with a single click, integrated tools for Google Search, Google Maps and Gmail, and 3G speeds on the T-Mobile network.