T-Mobile Begins Selling Android-Based myTouch 3G
T-Mobile launched its much-awaited second Android phone Wednesday, the myTouch 3G, with a pre-sale program for existing customers. The company said existing customers who take advantage of the pre-sales period, which lasts until July 28, can get delivery before the device is available nationally through stores beginning Aug 5.
Chief Marketing Officer Denny Marie Post emphasized that T-Mobile sees the myTouch as providing customers with “boundless ways to make their phone a true expression, and extension, of themselves.” These personalization touches include the ability to modify the device with new widgets, icons and wallpapers, as well as adding any of the thousands of applications available at Google’s Android Market.
The carrier also said it will launch a new app next month through the Android Market, called AppPack, that will help customers chose apps to personalize the myTouch.
Pre-designed shell patterns will soon be available through retail and online channels, and a dedicated Web site will allow customers to design their own shell. The customized shell can include a photo, a graphic design, or a selection of shapes, icons or logos.
Ramon Llamas, an analyst with industry research firm IDC, said he doesn’t think the “heavens parted and the angels sang” over the birth of this newest Android device from T-Mobile.
But, he said, it is a “lot better than the G1″ for people who see smartphones and similar devices as expressions of themselves. The G1, he noted, has been called “the Jay Leno phone” because of its “big chin” where the keyboard slides out, although he described the features as “pretty darned good.”
But he said the design of myTouch 3G is sleeker, and the features and overall experience “hit all the right notes.”
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