MyTouch 3G – 100% Yours [Review!]
The T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Event in NYC was held today and as you probably know, current T-Mobile customers can now pre-order the device. We all know that the MyTouch is essentially a keyboard-less G1 or an American HTC Magic – but what did we learn about the phone that we DIDN’T know before.
Quite a bit… but lets take it from the top.
I recorded the actual event announcement but it was almost 40 minutes long, that will come later – here is a quick still pic to hold you over:
For now lets dive into the actual hands-on part of the event. When we first walked into the demonstration room, this is what awaited us:
It sounds like T-Mobile is REALLY going to drive home that “100% You” tagline and rightfully so – while you COULD boil this phone down to a keyboardless-G1/American-Magic comparison, there is certainly a good bit of added value in the customization features on the MyTouch.
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like they really highlighted the unique offerings of the MyTouch 3G at the event. I spent some time with different staff showing off the device and they mostly concentrated on Sherpa even though Sherpa had their own stand to demo the product. Here is the MyTouch Tour I got from a T-Mobile rep:
Why not explain the phone from the top to bottom, talking about its sleek look, slim size, pocketability and feel in the hand, responsive touchscreen, convenient hardware buttons and trackball, great camera quality and all that jazz? I guess I’ll have to do that myself when a review unit comes across my desk.
If you want to be dead honest the actual MyTouch 3G isn’t too much different than the G1: It doesn’t have a keyboard and there are positives and negatives that come with that. The atmosphere of the MyTouch 3G event definitely shouted “100% You”. For example, there were 6 different stations that showed the MyTouch 3G customed for different types of people such as:
Movie Lovers:
Sports Fans:
Travelers:
Music Lovers:
Fitness Folks:
News Junkie:
I would have like to see the T-Mobile Reps have a more focused strategy at explaining how this phone is different from the T-Mobile G1 besides saying it is full touchscreen only. Why not really hammer home the various accessories that come with the MyTouch?
I think the MyTouch accessories are a great customization opportunity for customers – why not really drive that home in the presentation and from the representatives? Why not have the accessories on display? Here is a quick pic of the accessories I thought would excite a lot of people:
Great – accessories, accessories, accessories! But what REALLY struck me as pretty cool was T-Mobile’s concept that was tucked away on the very last page of the PDF – “Lifestyle Bundles”. Just as we saw with the different “stations” for different types of people, T-Mobile has a couple different “bundles” available for different types of people:
Notice the “Music” and “Fitness” bundles mention that they provide fitness application recommendations? I absolutely love this concept but I’m unsure of how it will play out in reality. I’m GUESSING that it’ll simply come with a pamphlet or guide that lists the suggested apps on a piece of paper and suggests you visit the Android Market to download them.
Why not accentuate this? Maybe T-Mobile already plans on this… but why not ask customers what “bundle” they want preloaded on their device with the option to select several? When you purchase the phone, it will already be loaded with these apps – saving you some tedious searching and downloading.
How about including paid apps in the bundle as well? Sounds like a great idea to me… and for a phone touting itself as “100% You” I think it would be a nice customization feature. This likely won’t happen and in reality, it is probably a logistical nightmare on the retail and sales level. But the idea of pre-customizing the phone based on a users interests allows them to tap into the power of Android Market without being overwhelmed.
When it comes down to it, you should ask yourself 2 questions when deciding whether or not to purchase the MyTouch 3G:
- Do I want Android?
- Do I prefer a slimmer touchscreen-only device?
If you answered yes to both questions than the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G is for you. Everything else is fluff and extra. I think the presentation of this phone shows how carriers and manufacturers may have trouble differentiating their devices from other Android devices. Think about it: Sherpa was perhaps the most highly touted feature of the MyTouch 3G today, but when the phone launches in late July or August, G1 owners will be able to download the application on Android Market as well.
Despite a less than perfectly focused positioning of the phone, I think the MyTouch Event was quite a success on many levels. The presentation was beautifully organized, the displays were vibrant and fun and the food (both taste and display) was fantastic.
On top of the aesthetics, T-Mobile has 2 Android devices out… and that is TWO more than ANY other American carrier. That – ladies and gentlement – is pure win. Lets chill with the inevitable talk of “why can’t we have the HTC Hero” and “What took so long to get a repackaged version of the HTC Magic?”
The bottom line is that T-Mobile is the only carrier in the states championing Android and they deserve a LOT of praise and respect for that. They’re way ahead of the curve (along with HTC) and I think they’ll benefit greatly in terms of sales, customers, stock price and all of those types of positive results.
Awesome job, T-Mobile… thank you for bringing more Android to Americans! Here are some other pictures from the event you might like to see just for fun.
Waiting for the presentation to start:
The food was amazingly yummy – I only had a smidgen but it all looked delicious and was a pretty neat focal point in the center of all the MyTouch 3G stands:
The lovely Autumn who gave me a tour of Sherpa – the new Android Application which is made by a company called Geodelic:
And we’ll finish it off with dessert… MyTouch 3G Cookies and Chocolate Milk! Haha props to T-Mo for this one – definitely a nice, random and funny touch:
There you have it… my first thoughts on the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G. I’ll have a LOT more goodies for you folks later today and tomorrow with in-depth reviews with the device coming later this month. So stay tuned to Phandroid for the latest (and hopefully greatest!) Android news and info!
