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T-Mobile myTouch 4G
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T-Mobile myTouch 4G
Există unele caracteristici noi care provin din T-Mobile: SUA companie de telefonie mobilă, în fapt, a anunţat "revizuire" a smartphone myTouch. Potrivit operatorului de transport, noua versiune a terminalului va fi numit T-Mobile myTouch 4G lăsând deja înţeles ce va fi principalelor ştiri.
După aproape o luna de la lansarea myTouch, apoi, e timpul pentru un upgrade al terminalului. Noul produs este echipat cu un tri-band GSM reţea de sprijin HSPA dar nu este clar dacă va exista final compatibilitatea cu reţelele de a patra generaţie, aşa-numitele LTE (Long Term Evolution), standard care vor fi lansate în următoarele săptămâni, în unele zone ale SUA.
4G are myTouch, Mai mult, Suport pentru Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth e USB. Camera foto este un 5 Megapixeli complet cu autofocus, Zoom digital, şi geotagging caracteristici pentru înregistrare video (abilitatea de a captura video în HD). Există, de asemenea, o camera frontala VGA pentru apeluri video. Ecranul este un touchscreen Super-branded LCD Sony, cu o diagonala de bine- 3,8 inch, cu o rezoluţie de 800 x 480 pixel. Există, de asemenea, o mufa de intrare 3,5 mm.
Sumele memorie internă pentru a 1 GB, extins în continuare printr-un slot pentru microSD / microSDHC. Sistemul de operare folosit în 4G este myTouch Android traducere 2.2 Froyo. Procesorul, în schimb, Gura-leului este un Qualcomm MSM8255, în chip 1 GHz. Litiu ion 1400 mAh are un timp de vorbire de 6 ore şi 288 minereu în stand-by.
Coming hot on the heels of the ultra-impressive G2, T-Mobile has returned to its myTouch series with the myTouch 4G. While the G2 is the natural enthusiast flagship, the 4G represents a flagship in its own right of a skinned, curated Android experience. If the G2 is the Droid 2 killer, T-Mobile probably sees the myTouch as the iPhone 4 killer (even the name has a similarity to the popular "iTouch" misnomer, and the 4G / 4 mirrors T-Mobile's matchy matchy naming sense with the myTouch 3G / iPhone 3G... we're just saying, is all). So, what does that mean in practice? Some impressive functionality inside and out, including a front facing camera for video calls, HSPA+ network speeds, and WiFi Calling. How does it all play out in the real world? Let's find out.
Hardware
The myTouch 4G is very "premium." Unfortunately, it's "premium" in the worst way. It screams over effort, has an incomprehensible jumble of design languages and materials, feels simultaneously heavy and cheap in the hand, and manages to bear a too-striking resemblance to the iPhone 3G to boot (at least in the white edition of this phone we have, the handset also comes in red, plum, and black flavors). Lest you think we just have iPhone on the brain, a non-techy family member actually made the look-alike comment offhand, unprompted. What's sad is that there are actually a lot of redeeming qualities to the external hardware that, when taken one at a time, would be pretty welcome in a phone.
Take the brushed metal battery cover, for instance. It has an ultramodern look and feel, and HTC (responsible for the hardware, though they clearly departed from their traditional design language) heightens this impression with a slightly darker metal up above, around the camera. Unfortunately, this two-tone metal area is surrounded by white plastic, which makes both elements look cheap and out of place. For overall feel we actually love the hefty weight of the device (some might differ, it's a personal preference), but there's a discontinuity of contour everywhere that would make a car designer blush. If you run your finger from screen, over a side edge, and onto the back you go from glass to metal to plastic back to metal, with all sorts of odd angles and abrupt edges en route. This might sound silly to be worried about, but we found that with all this inconsistency the phone just never "settled" into our hand in a satisfying way.
Another personal preference, but one which actually swings the other way, are the large, clicky face buttons and the optical track pad which doubles as a button as well. We just love clicking things. They're all nestled in the "chin" of the device, an ode to the G1 / myTouch 3G heritage, and a little touch that we love as well. Unfortunately, this friendly set of buttons is marred slightly by T-Mobile's replacement of the traditional search button with the "Genius Button" to enact voice searches. We'll talk more about it in software, but basically we're unenthused by this switcharoo.
Coming hot on the heels of the ultra-impressive G2, T-Mobile has returned to its myTouch series with the myTouch 4G. While the G2 is the natural enthusiast flagship, the 4G represents a flagship in its own right of a skinned, curated Android experience. If the G2 is the Droid 2 killer, T-Mobile probably sees the myTouch as the iPhone 4 killer (even the name has a similarity to the popular "iTouch" misnomer, and the 4G / 4 mirrors T-Mobile's matchy matchy naming sense with the myTouch 3G / iPhone 3G... we're just saying, is all). So, what does that mean in practice? Some impressive functionality inside and out, including a front facing camera for video calls, HSPA+ network speeds, and WiFi Calling. How does it all play out in the real world? Let's find out.
T-Mobile myTouch 4G hands-on
Internals
Spec-wise, the myTouch 4G pretty much has it all. The 3.8-inch 800 x 480 really "pops" color and brightness-wise, although the viewing angles don't quite match Super AMOLED or the best LCDs we've seen. It's also very readable outdoors, though our current weather patterns didn't allow for testing it under direct sunlight.
Under the hood there's the same second-gen 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8255 "Scorpion" Snapdragon processor that powers the Desire HD, and the same 768MB of RAM. A sizable 1400mAh battery provides plenty of juice to get through a day of pretty hefty use. We even left it off a charger overnight and still had some room in the tank to make it to noon the next day. Of course, if you're doing anything that really taps into the processor -- 3D gaming, or the oddly demanding Angry Birds (which kills our iPhone battery as well, and makes both handsets run inexplicably hot) -- you should probably keep your charger handy.
Storage-wise there's an 8GB microSD card included (which is nicely accessible without removing the battery), and 4GB of built-in storage, though there's only about 1GB of that available to the user.
The real standout feature is a front-facing camera, which still only a few handsets on the market can lay claim to. Of course, the VGA sensor won't do your ugly mug any favors. With HSPA+ onboard (what T-Mobile's calling "4G" these days), T-Mobile is confidently pushing this phone as a "video calls anywhere" number, and luckily HSDPA works fine as well -- which is extra-nice because HSPA+ signals are still pretty scarce in NY where we tested this. Around back there's a 5 megapixel camera, complete with LED flash, which is also usable for video calling.
One of our favorite little tidbits is the 802.11n WiFi, which blissfully supports our 5GHz-only home router in addition to regular 2.4GHz shenanigans (2.4GHz is horribly saturated in Manhattan).
Phone / speakerphone / call quality
This is an intensely mixed bag. The excellent connection we got on T-Mobile meant people could hear us vastly better than they typically can on a AT&T / Verizon / Sprint connection in our usual haunts. This writer's apartment in particular is a sort of concrete bunker, and T-Mobile blasts right through it (of course, your mileage may vary, T-Mobile's network is well known for its inconsistent nature).
Coming hot on the heels of the ultra-impressive G2, T-Mobile has returned to its myTouch series with the myTouch 4G. While the G2 is the natural enthusiast flagship, the 4G represents a flagship in its own right of a skinned, curated Android experience. If the G2 is the Droid 2 killer, T-Mobile probably sees the myTouch as the iPhone 4 killer (even the name has a similarity to the popular "iTouch" misnomer, and the 4G / 4 mirrors T-Mobile's matchy matchy naming sense with the myTouch 3G / iPhone 3G... we're just saying, is all). So, what does that mean in practice? Some impressive functionality inside and out, including a front facing camera for video calls, HSPA+ network speeds, and WiFi Calling. How does it all play out in the real world? Let's find out.
T-Mobile myTouch 4G hands-on
Hardware
The myTouch 4G is very "premium." Unfortunately, it's "premium" in the worst way. It screams over effort, has an incomprehensible jumble of design languages and materials, feels simultaneously heavy and cheap in the hand, and manages to bear a too-striking resemblance to the iPhone 3G to boot (at least in the white edition of this phone we have, the handset also comes in red, plum, and black flavors). Lest you think we just have iPhone on the brain, a non-techy family member actually made the look-alike comment offhand, unprompted. What's sad is that there are actually a lot of redeeming qualities to the external hardware that, when taken one at a time, would be pretty welcome in a phone.
Take the brushed metal battery cover, for instance. It has an ultramodern look and feel, and HTC (responsible for the hardware, though they clearly departed from their traditional design language) heightens this impression with a slightly darker metal up above, around the camera. Unfortunately, this two-tone metal area is surrounded by white plastic, which makes both elements look cheap and out of place. For overall feel we actually love the hefty weight of the device (some might differ, it's a personal preference), but there's a discontinuity of contour everywhere that would make a car designer blush. If you run your finger from screen, over a side edge, and onto the back you go from glass to metal to plastic back to metal, with all sorts of odd angles and abrupt edges en route. This might sound silly to be worried about, but we found that with all this inconsistency the phone just never "settled" into our hand in a satisfying way.
Another personal preference, but one which actually swings the other way, are the large, clicky face buttons and the optical track pad which doubles as a button as well. We just love clicking things. They're all nestled in the "chin" of the device, an ode to the G1 / myTouch 3G heritage, and a little touch that we love as well. Unfortunately, this friendly set of buttons is marred slightly by T-Mobile's replacement of the traditional search button with the "Genius Button" to enact voice searches. We'll talk more about it in software, but basically we're unenthused by this switcharoo.
Finally, don't even get us started on the horrific earpiece speaker grill.
Other hardware details that aren't so polarizing: an excellent camera shutter button in the usual spot; a lock button in the usual spot, which might be just slightly too recessed; and a volume rocker that's a little "loose" and plastic, but otherwise unoffensive. There's the typical micro-USB jack on the lower left-hand side, 3.5mm headphone jack up top, and some intriguing docking pins of some sort one the middle of the left side that seem primed for accessorizing.
Speaking of accessories, the myTouch 4G's retail packaging is actually pretty swank. Once you get the simple cardboard sleeve off, it's simply a zipper case with foam-lined spots for the USB wall plug adapter, USB cable, headphones (with remote / mic), manuals, and, of course, the phone.
myTouch 4G accessories
Internals
Spec-wise, the myTouch 4G pretty much has it all. The 3.8-inch 800 x 480 really "pops" color and brightness-wise, although the viewing angles don't quite match Super AMOLED or the best LCDs we've seen. It's also very readable outdoors, though our current weather patterns didn't allow for testing it under direct sunlight.
Under the hood there's the same second-gen 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8255 "Scorpion" Snapdragon processor that powers the Desire HD, and the same 768MB of RAM. A sizable 1400mAh battery provides plenty of juice to get through a day of pretty hefty use. We even left it off a charger overnight and still had some room in the tank to make it to noon the next day. Of course, if you're doing anything that really taps into the processor -- 3D gaming, or the oddly demanding Angry Birds (which kills our iPhone battery as well, and makes both handsets run inexplicably hot) -- you should probably keep your charger handy.
Storage-wise there's an 8GB microSD card included (which is nicely accessible without removing the battery), and 4GB of built-in storage, though there's only about 1GB of that available to the user.
The real standout feature is a front-facing camera, which still only a few handsets on the market can lay claim to. Of course, the VGA sensor won't do your ugly mug any favors. With HSPA+ onboard (what T-Mobile's calling "4G" these days), T-Mobile is confidently pushing this phone as a "video calls anywhere" number, and luckily HSDPA works fine as well -- which is extra-nice because HSPA+ signals are still pretty scarce in NY where we tested this. Around back there's a 5 megapixel camera, complete with LED flash, which is also usable for video calling.
One of our favorite little tidbits is the 802.11n WiFi, which blissfully supports our 5GHz-only home router in addition to regular 2.4GHz shenanigans (2.4GHz is horribly saturated in Manhattan).
Phone / speakerphone / call quality
This is an intensely mixed bag. The excellent connection we got on T-Mobile meant people could hear us vastly better than they typically can on a AT&T / Verizon / Sprint connection in our usual haunts. This writer's apartment in particular is a sort of concrete bunker, and T-Mobile blasts right through it (of course, your mileage may vary, T-Mobile's network is well known for its inconsistent nature).
Better yet, T-Mobile has included WiFi Calling on this phone, which Just Works. Basically, you just run the WiFi Calling app, register your current WiFi network, and select if you prefer WiFi calls or cellular calls in absence of the other, or want to go WiFi only. Then, for as long as you're on the WiFi, your incoming and outgoing calls will be routed through WiFi. Unfortunately, this app solution doesn't have any sort of handoff method for moving to cellular if you leave the WiFi area, but it's still a far sight better than resorting to tack-on VoIP solutions when you can't get a signal.
So, with great connections at our back, everyone we spoke to on the phone were positively ecstatic about our voice quality. Unfortunately, they don't sound so good on our end. Basically, the earpiece (that ugly, ugly earpiece) is too quiet. It's not like we can't hear people, but we like to have the capacity to turn up the volume to an uncomfortable level, in case we're in a noisy environment, or the person on the other end is quiet for some reason. Sadly, the speakerphone is even worse. Not only is it very quiet and rather tinny, but it distorts terribly at its higher volume levels. Speakerphone music playback is painful as well.
The included headphone / headset is alright, and at least solves the volume problem on our end, but the remote / mic that's built into the cable is a little too low for optimal voice pickup.
Coming hot on the heels of the ultra-impressive G2, T-Mobile has returned to its myTouch series with the myTouch 4G. While the G2 is the natural enthusiast flagship, the 4G represents a flagship in its own right of a skinned, curated Android experience. If the G2 is the Droid 2 killer, T-Mobile probably sees the myTouch as the iPhone 4 killer (even the name has a similarity to the popular "iTouch" misnomer, and the 4G / 4 mirrors T-Mobile's matchy matchy naming sense with the myTouch 3G / iPhone 3G... we're just saying, is all). So, what does that mean in practice? Some impressive functionality inside and out, including a front facing camera for video calls, HSPA+ network speeds, and WiFi Calling. How does it all play out in the real world? Let's find out.
