USA and UK - T-Mobile, the first carrier to launch Android-powered smartphones in the world has announced that it will be launching its second Android-based phone in the United States of America and in the United Kingdom.While the network will be launching HTC's MyTouch 3G and G1 Touch in the US, the details of the latter device have not yet been released in the UK. However, T-Mobile have confirmed that the MyTouch 3G will be the US version of HTC's Magic which first appeared on Vodafone in Europe, announced during the Mobile World Congress 2009.
Since Vodafone has already launched HTC Magic in Europe (including UK), T-Mobile UK will be launching another Android-based smartphone, widely rumored to be the Huawei's U8230, unveiled in Singapore during the recently concluded CommunicAsia 2009.
Unlike their predecessor, the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream), both the MyTouch 3G and the G1 Touch lack a physical QWERTY keyboard and rely on on-screen QWERTY keyboard, recently included in the Cupcake update of the Google Android firmware.
MyTouch 3G
Leaked pictures of HTC Magic with T-Mobile branding (Source: AndroidForums)
HTC announced their second Android-based smartphone - the HTC Magic - during Mobile World Congress, which was subsequently released in European markets on contract from Vodafone. While the Magic has been available in the European markets since February this year, it has still not hit the shores of US. T-Mobile is all set to correct this with its launch of the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G later this month.
The MyTouch 3G's specifications include quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) and dualband HSDPA (850/1900MHz) connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB. The device sports a 3.2" TFT screen at a resolution of 320x480 pixels rendering 65k colours, a 3.15 megapixel camera with autofocus and support for video calling, and microSD memory card support. The device is powered by a Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz processor, along with 192 MB of RAM and 512 MB of ROM.
Being powered by the same processor, there are no considerable hardware upgrades when compared to its predecessor, HTC Dream. However, the lack of full QWERTY keyboard makes the MyTouch 3G lighter by 30g when compared to the Dream. The device is also powered by a better Lithium-ion battery rated at 1340 mAh, compared to 1150 mAh of HTC Dream.
As of now, pricing and availibilty in the US is unknown.T-Mobile G1 Touch
Huawei's U8230
T-Mobile UK have not released any official announcement regarding the details of their second Android smartphone. The identity and make of the device which has been titled G1 Touch continues to be a mystery. However, UnwiredView have speculated the G1Touch to be Huawei's recently-announced Android-based smartphone U8230 following an official statement from a representative of Huawei confirming the debut of U8230 under the T-Mobile branding.
With At&T stealing the thunder in the smartphone market with the launch of the iPhone 3G S in the US and UK markets, the success of the second generation of Android-powered phones will mostly rely on pricing and availibility.
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